,illustration3 ,,dougan ,,clark1 ,m4,d4 ,,the ,,theology ,,of ,,holiness4 ,,by ,,dougan ,,clark1 ,m4 ,d4 ,,professor ,,of ,,systematic ,,theology ,,and ,,church ,,history ,,in ,,earlham ,,college1 ,,richmond1 ,,indiana4 ,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,,my ,,father ,,and ,,mother1 ,,dougan ,,and ,,asenath ,,clark1 ,,both ,,for ,,many ,,years ,,approved ,,ministers ,,in ,,the ,,friends' ,,church1 ,,and ,,both ,,long ,,since ,,departed ,,to ,,be ,,with ,,christ1 ,,this ,,book ,,is ,,lovingly ,dedicated4 ,,contents4 ,i4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,a ,,necessity ,,ii4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,obtainable ,,iii4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,in ,,patriarchal ,,times ,,iv4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,in ,,type ,v4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,in ,,prophecy ,,vi4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,jesus ,,christ ,,vii4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,paul ,,viii4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,peter ,,ix4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,john ,x4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,james ,,and ,,jude ,,xi4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,god ,,the ,,father ,,xii4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,god ,,the ,,son ,,xiii4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,god ,,the ,,holy ,,ghost ,,xiv4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,the ,,truth ,,xv4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,faith ,,xvi4 ,,conclusion ,,chapter ,i4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,a ,,necessity4 ,science is a systematic presentation of truth4 ,theology is the most important of all sciences4 ,it is the science that treats of ,god and of man in his relation to ,god4 ,it is a systematic presentation of revealed truth4 ,as the basis of ,astronomy is the universe of worlds revealed by the telescope1 and as the basis of ,geology is the crust of the earth1 so the basis of ,theology is the ,divine revelation found in the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,the ,theology of ,entire ,sanctification1 therefore1 is a systematic presentation of the doctrine of entire sanctification as derived from the written word of ,god4 ,such a presentation we hope--with the help of the ,holy ,spirit1 which we here and now earnestly invoke--to attempt to give in this book4 ,may ,god bless the endeavor1 and overrule our human weakness1 to the glory of ,his ,name4 ,amen4 ,it is a lamentable fact that there is a large class of ,christians to whom the subject of entire sanctification is a matter of indifference4 ,they hope1 with or without sufficient reason1 that their sins are forgiven4 ,they propose to live moral and useful lives1 and trust1 again with or without sufficient reason1 that they will go to heaven when they die4 ,the subject of holiness does not interest them4 ,they suppose themselves to be doing well enough without it4 ,there are others claiming to be ,christians1 to whom the subject is even positively distasteful4 ,it is an offence to them4 ,they do not want to hear it preached4 ,they regard those who claim it as cranks4 ,they look upon holiness meetings as being hotbeds of delusion and spiritual pride4 ,they turn away from the whole subject not only with indifference1 but with disdain4 ,there are still others1 and these ,god's children1 as we may charitably believe1 who do not even regard holiness as a desirable thing4 ,they assert that it is needful and salutary to retain some sin in the heart as long as we live1 in order to keep us humble4 ,it is true that they are never able to tell how much sin it takes to have this beneficial effect1 but a certain amount they are bent on having4 ,another class takes the opposite view4 ,they regard holiness as very desirable1 and a very lovely thing to gaze upon and think upon1 but they also regard it as quite impossible of attainment4 ,they hope to grow towards it all the days of their lives1 and to get it at the moment of death4 ,not sooner than the dying hour1 do they believe any human being can be made holy4 ,not till death is separating the soul from the body can even ,god ,himself separate sin from the soul4 ,the whole doctrine of entire sanctification1 therefore1 they regard as a beautiful theory1 but wholly impossible as an experience1 and wholly impracticable as a life4 ,in general terms1 we may say that carnal ,christians1 as described by ,paul in ,i4 ,corinthians #c3a-d1 are opposed to the doctrine of entire sanctification4 ,the carnal mind is enmity against ,god1 and the carnal mind is irreconcilably opposed to holiness4 ,this opposition may take one of the forms already described1 or1 possibly1 some other forms which have been overlooked1 but the root of the hostility is the same in all4 ,wherever our old man has his home in a ,christian's heart1 there entire sanctification will be rejected4 ,but we must not forget that there are many exceptions4 ,there are thousands of sincere1 believing hearts in all ,christian denominations1 in whom inbred sin still exists1 but not with the consent of the will4 ,they are tired--very tired of the tyrant that rules them1 or of the ceaseless struggles by which1 with ,god's added and assisting grace1 they are enabled to keep him under4 ,they long for deliverance4 ,they are hungering for full salvation1 and rejoice to hear the message of entire sanctification through the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and fire4 ,the ,lord bless all these hungering multitudes1 and give them the desire of their hearts by saving them to the uttermost1 and may their numbers be vastly increased1 so that the banner of ,christ's church may everywhere be unfurled--the banner on which is inscribed the glorious motto of ,holiness to the ,lord4 ,now we meet all objections to the doctrine of entire sanctification--whether in the form of indifference1 or dislike1 or undesirableness1 or impossibility--with the simple proposition1 ,it is necessary4 ,if this proposition can be established1 all objections1 of whatever character1 must fall to the ground1 and the eager cry of every ,christian heart must be1 ,how can ,i obtain that priceless blessing which is essential to my eternal bliss1 which is indispensable1 and without which ,i shall never see the ,lord8 ,for this is the language of the ,holy ,ghost in ,heb4 #ab3ad1 ,follow peace with all men1 and holiness without which no man shall see the ,lord1 and in the ,revised ,version1 ,follow after peace with all men1 and the sanctification without which no man shall see the ,lord4 ,this can mean nothing short of entire sanctification1 or the removal of inbred sin4 ,and1 surely1 it is hardly necessary to argue the question as to the indispensableness of this blessed experience1 in order to gain an entrance into heaven4 ,everyone will admit that ,god ,himself is a perfectly and absolutely holy ,being1 and ,he has ever told ,his followers in all ages1 ,be ye holy for ,i am holy--making ,his own perfect and entire holiness the sufficient reason for requiring the same quality in ,his people4 ,and1 although the holiness of the highest created being will always fall infinitely short of that of the ,infinite ,god1 as regards quantity1 it will be the same in quality1 for ,jesus tells us1 ,be ye perfect even as your ,father in heaven is perfect1 not1 of course1 with the unmeasurable amount of perfection which appertains to ,him1 but with the same kind of perfection so far as it goes4 ,and again in ,rev4 #ba3bg1 we are told that ,there shall in no wise enter into it 7the heavenly city7 anything that defileth1 neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie4 ,heaven is a holy place1 and occupied with none but holy inhabitants4 ,but if holiness of heart is a necessity in order that we may reach the blissful abode of the glory land1 when is this stupendous blessing to be obtained8 ,it is by no means1 thoughtlessly1 that ,i write obtained and not attained4 ,it is very generally spoken of as an attainment1 and this form of expression has a tendency to discourage the seeker by magnifying the difficulty of receiving this blessing4 ,the thought contained in the word attainment is that of something earnestly striven for1 struggled after1 persistently pursued with much labor and toil and effort1 until1 at last1 the coveted prize is attained4 ,a very few of the multitudes who went to ,california1 soon after gold was discovered there1 attained fortune2 but it was after years of hard labor and privation and hardship4 ,the majority died on the way1 or while mining for the precious metal1 or returned as poor as they went4 ,on the other hand1 the idea of an obtainment is simply that of a gift4 ,and entire sanctification is precisely a gift1 merely this and nothing more4 ,it is not received by struggle1 nor effort1 nor merit of our own2 it is not a great and laborious enterprise to be undertaken2 not the fruit of a long journey or a perilous voyage2 not by doing1 nor trying1 nor suffering1 nor resolving1 nor achieving1 but by stretching out the hand of faith and taking4 ,praise the ,lord4 ,and1 therefore1 we ask again when is this indispensable gift to be obtained8 ,the ,roman ,catholic and the ,restorationist answer1 in purgatorial fire1 or in some kind of a second probation after death4 ,but the ,holy ,scriptures tell us absolutely nothing either of a purgatory or a post-mortem probation4 ,on the contrary1 they clearly teach us that our destiny for all eternity is to be determined in one probation1 which is allotted to us in the present life4 ,let no one suppose1 for a moment1 that he can be made fit for heaven at any time1 nor in any place1 nor by any means1 after he has left this mundane sphere4 ,behold1 now is the accepted time2 behold1 now is the day of salvation4 ,but all the ,calvinistic churches by their creeds1 and also a large portion of the membership of ,arminian denominations1 without regard to their creeds1 if asked when are we to obtain entire sanctification as an essential meetness for heaven1 would answer1 at death4 ,the prevailing idea on this subject1 among ,christian believers1 seems to be as follows3 ,first1 through repentance toward ,god and faith toward our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 we are converted4 ,our past sins are pardoned1 and we are born again4 ,after that1 our sole business is to grow in grace1 and by this growth to approach nearer and nearer to the standard of entire sanctification1 but never even suppose that we can reach that standard until the moment of death4 ,now1 grace is the gift of ,god1 and we cannot1 possibly1 grow in grace until we receive it4 ,and we can never grow into grace1 but grow in it after we get it4 ,we can grow1 it is true1 in the grace of justification to a limited degree and for a limited time4 ,the degree is limited because of the presence of inbred sin1 which is the great1 if indeed1 not the only hindrance of growth4 ,the time is limited in most cases1 at least1 because if the justified ,christian is brought to see the need and the possibility of entire sanctification1 and yet fails1 as so many do1 to enter into the blessing1 because of unbelief1 he is very prone either to backslide1 in which case1 of course1 there will be a cessation of growth1 or1 like the ,galatians1 he will submit to the bondage of legalism1 and after having begun in the ,spirit1 he will seek to be perfected in the flesh2 in which case ,paul's verdict to that beloved church was not ye are growing in grace1 but1 ye are fallen from grace4 ,it is plain1 therefore1 that we can never grow into the blessing of entire sanctification4 ,that blessing is to be received by faith1 as the gift of ,god in ,christ ,jesus and through the ,holy ,spirit2 and when the grace has once been obtained in this manner1 then we can grow in it indefinitely and for a lifetime1 possibly even for an eternity4 ,growth in grace is a most blessed thing in its right place1 and when rightly understood and experienced1 but it can never bring us to the death of the old man1 nor to the experience of entire sanctification4 ,and as growth cannot do this1 neither can death4 ,death is nowhere mentioned in ,scripture as a sanctifier4 ,death can separate the soul from the body1 but to separate sin from the soul is a work which ,god can only do4 ,jesus ,christ is our sanctification1 and the ,holy ,spirit is our sanctifier1 and even if the work is performed in the article of death1 it is still the ,holy ,spirit and not death that performs it4 ,and if ,he can perform it in the hour and article of death1 where is the hindrance to ,his performing it a week1 a month1 a year1 or forty years before death--if only the conditions are fulfilled on our part4 ,do we say that ,he cannot perform it before death2 then where is ,his omnipotence8 ,do we say that ,he will not do it before death2 then where is ,his own holiness8 ,in either case1 we dishonor ,god and rob ourselves of an inestimable and indispensable blessing4 ,god save us from such folly4 ,scripture1 reason and experience1 therefore1 all unite in the sentiment that entire sanctification is to be sought and obtained now1 and if now1 then it is to be obtained instantaneously1 and if instantaneously and now1 it follows1 also1 that it is to be obtained by faith1 and from these premises the further conclusion is logically deducible1 that we cannot make ourselves any better in order to receive it1 but that we must take it as we are4 ,and so we arrive at and adopt the pithy precept of ,john ,wesley1 ,expect it by faith--expect it as you are--expect it now4 ,in these remarks we have necessarily anticipated some things which belong more accurately to the next chapter2 but we are not seeking so much for a perfectly methodical arrangement1 as for a clear and ,scriptural presentation of the subject4 ,and we proceed to affirm now that entire sanctification is not only essential as the condition of entering heaven1 but that it is also necessary for the highest results of the ,christian life on earth4 ,it is not only an indispensable blessing to die by1 but1 if we would fulfill our ,father's will in this world1 it is indispensable to live by4 ,but before leaving entirely the subject of growth in grace1 having demonstrated1 as we trust1 that we can never grow into entire sanctification1 we ought1 perhaps1 to explain what we mean by the statement that we can grow indefinitely in that precious grace after1 and not before1 we receive it4 ,entire sanctification has two sides or aspects4 ,it has a positive side and a negative side4 ,its negative side is the removal of inbred sin1 and is1 therefore1 a matter of subtraction4 ,and herein1 we may remark in passing1 is a characteristic difference between entire sanctification and regeneration4 ,the latter is a matter of addition1 because it implies the impartation of a new life to the soul which has hitherto been dead in trespasses and sins4 ,now in this negative aspect of entire sanctification there can be no growth4 ,if a heart is pure it cannot be more pure4 ,if it is free from sin it cannot be more free from sin4 ,an empty vessel1 as some one has said1 cannot be more empty4 ,there can be no increase in purity4 ,but the positive side of entire sanctification is perfect love1 and this is a relative expression4 ,it does not mean that all who possess it must have an equal amount of love4 ,perfect love to each individual is just his own heart--not some one else's heart--being filled with love4 ,one individual may have a greater capacity of loving than another1 just as he may have a greater capacity of seeing or of working4 ,perfect love in a child would not be perfect love in a man2 and perfect love in a man would not be perfect love in an angel4 ,and perfect love may increase in the same individual so that what is perfect love today may not be perfect love to-morrow4 ,as we commune with ,god and work with ,him1 as we get more and more acquainted with ,christ and ,with the ,holy ,spirit1 and see more of the infinite attractions of the ,triune ,god1 how is it possible that we should not love ,him more and more8 ,there will never be a time in earth nor in ,heaven1 says the late ,dr4 ,upham1 when there may not be an increase of holy love4 ,on the positive side of entire sanctification1 then1 there may be and will be growth indefinitely and everlastingly4 ,and this is the true growth in grace1 about which much more could be said1 but we leave it for the present1 to resume our main theme of the necessity of entire sanctification in this life as well as the life to come4 ,we make a definite statement as follows1 viz3 ,no ,christian can do all that ,god would have him do1 nor enjoy all that ,god would have him enjoy in this world1 without the grace of entire sanctification4 ,in the beautiful language of metaphor the ,saviour says1 ,i am the true ,vine and ,my ,father is the husbandman4 ,every branch in ,me that beareth not fruit ,he taketh away1 and every branch in ,me that beareth fruit ,he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit4 ,and again1 ,herein is ,my ,father glorified that ye bear much fruit3 so shall ye be ,my disciples4 ,now the abundant fruit requires for its production the abundant life1 and these are both found in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,i am come1 says ,he1 that ye might have life 7in regeneration7 and that ye might have it more abundantly 7in entire sanctification74 ,the abundant life and the abundant fruit1 therefore1 can only be found in connection with purity of heart4 ,it is doubtless true that every living branch1 that is to say1 every justified and regenerated believer1 may and should and must1 if he would retain his religion1 bring forth some fruit4 ,and it is precisely these branches that are bearing fruit1 whom the ,great ,husbandman purges--sanctifies--that they may bring forth the more abundant fruit by which ,he ,himself shall be glorified4 ,and here we might rest our case with a ,q4 ,e4 ,d41 but another remark or two will be in place4 ,the late ,lord ,tennyson could perceive1 with the genius of a poet1 the intimate connection between purity and power4 ,he puts into the mouth of ,sir ,galahad1 one of his heroes1 these beautiful words1 viz3 ,my strength is as the strength of ten1 ,because my heart is pure4 ,now one of the most common complaints among ,christians of all denominations1 is because of their weakness and their leanness4 ,and yet nothing is clearer than that ,god has promised to make ,his people strong1 that ,he has commanded them to be strong in the ,lord1 and that not to be strong is even blameworthy1 not to say criminal in ,his sight4 ,the reason1 then1 of our weakness and our leanness and the meagreness of our fruitage1 can be nothing else than because we do not fulfill the conditions on which ,he promises to make us strong4 ,one of these conditions1 and an indispensable one1 is that we be entirely sanctified4 ,it is they that know their ,god1 both in conversion and entire sanctification1 both in pardon and purity1 that shall be strong and do exploits4 ,beloved1 if you would accomplish the work that ,god has given you to do1 and not have to regret its non-accomplishment in eternity1 even if you are saved so as by fire1 seek and find that which is the essential condition1 and ask at once to be wholly sanctified4 ,and if you would have the fullness of joy1 even the joy of an uttermost salvation1 the peace that passeth understanding1 the fellowship with the ,father and with ,his son1 ,jesus ,christ1 the sealing and anointing of the ,spirit1 the white stone and the new name1 the abiding presence of the indwelling ,comforter1 then pray that the very ,god of ,peace may here and now sanctify you wholly4 ,amen4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,obtainable4 ,this would seem to follow as a necessary corollary from what has been said in the preceding chapter4 ,if entire sanctification has been proved to be not a matter of option but a matter of necessity2 if we cannot attain to the highest results in ,christian privilege1 nor in ,christian enjoyment1 nor in ,christian service without this blessed experience1 and if1 at the end1 we cannot be admitted into the celestial city unless we possess it1 surely we cannot doubt for a moment that our gracious ,heavenly ,father has provided a way by which this indispensable requisite both for time and for eternity may be received4 ,but before discussing this proposition in detail let us have a clear understanding of what is meant by entire sanctification1 and1 as a preliminary1 let us study a few simple theological definitions4 ,in the first place1 my reader will have no difficulty in believing that ,i fully accept the ,arminian doctrine of the universality of the atonement4 ,the sacrifice of ,christ is sufficient for the salvation of all mankind1 and its benefits are offered to all4 ,he tasted death for every man4 ,but it does not follow that all men will be saved1 and this for the reason that the atonement is not unconditional but conditional4 ,it is offered to all1 and all are invited and entreated to accept it4 ,but it is available only in the case of those who believe4 ,he that believeth shall be saved1 and he that believeth not shall be condemned4 ,a universal atonement1 therefore1 does not by any means imply a universal salvation4 ,redemption is a term of broad and varied application4 ,it is either general or special4 ,in one sense it is as broad as atonement4 ,atonement is for sin2 redemption is from sin and from all the sad results of sin4 ,in its more special meaning it is applicable only to those who accept the atonement4 ,for these it implies release from the bondage of the will under the law of sin and death1 or justification and regeneration4 ,it brings also release from the power and existence of depravity or entire sanctification4 ,it promises1 in the future1 the complete glorification of the saints in body1 soul and spirit at ,god's right hand1 and the deliverance of the creation itself from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of ,god4 ,the first condition on which the benefits of the atonement are offered to the sinner is repentance4 ,both the ,saviour ,himself and ,his forerunner began their public ministry with words of like import1 viz3 ,repent ye and believe the gospel4 ,repentance does not mean penance--not a voluntary sacrifice in our own will for an expiation of sin--nor is it merely sorrow for our past sins1 although godly sorrow is one of the elements of true repentance4 ,the sorrow of the world may produce remorse1 that continual biting which tortures the soul of the lost2 but remorse is not repentance1 and the sorrow of the world worketh not life but death4 ,true repentance involves a change of mind1 a change of purpose1 a change of will1 and implies not only a godly sorrow for sin--sorrow not only because the sin has resulted in physical or mental or financial or reputational disaster--but because it has grieved the ,spirit of our ,god2 and it implies not only sorrow for our sin but the determination to forsake it as well4 ,it is the afterthought1 and involves both regret for what we have done and the purpose to do so no more4 ,the next1 and specially indispensable1 condition for receiving the benefits of the atonement is faith4 ,this means nothing more nor less than taking ,god at ,his word4 ,we are assured that without faith it is impossible to please ,god1 for he that cometh to ,god must believe that ,he is1 and that ,he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek ,him4 ,faith is the substance of things hoped for1 because it makes them real4 ,it is the evidence of things not seen because it convinces the mind of their actual existence4 ,it is true that all men believe something1 and1 therefore1 that all men have faith4 ,it is not true that all men believe ,god1 and1 therefore1 not true that all men have saving faith4 ,and here we must make a distinction4 ,faith is often said to be the gift of ,god1 and in the sense of the grace of faith1 or the power of believing1 this is true4 ,but the act of faith is the actual exercise of the power of believing1 which ,god has given us4 ,it involves the putting forth of the choosing power of the human will1 that we may accept the salvation which is offered us4 ,god has given to us all the faith faculty1 just as ,he has given to us the seeing faculty4 ,in the one case1 as in the other1 we are responsible for the exercise of the faculty thus given4 ,the proper object of the seeing faculty is the world around us1 with all its multiplicity of existences4 ,we may open our eyes and see or we may close them and fail to see4 ,the proper object of the faith faculty is truth1 and especially gospel truth1 the truth of salvation through a crucified and risen ,lord4 ,we may exercise our believing power and accept this great salvation or we may close our faith-eyes1 and fail to see and believe1 and this to our eternal loss4 ,for ,god commands us to believe and holds us responsible for obedience to that as to all other of ,his commands4 ,the fact of the command involves the power to obey4 ,our will1 therefore1 our choosing power1 must be put on the believing side1 and not on the side of unbelief4 ,it is not that we are required to believe without evidence4 ,it is that our depraved hearts are not willing to believe when the evidence is ample4 ,and1 therefore1 our eternal destiny is made to hinge on our obedience to the positive command1 ,believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,the great and crying sin of our fallen humanity is unbelief4 ,it is this that has sundered us1 as a race1 from our union with ,god1 and it is faith which is to be the bond by which we may again be reunited to ,him4 ,he that believeth not the ,son is condemned already4 ,repentance and faith are the conditions on which ,god promises to give us the grace of justification4 ,this is pardon for all our past sins4 ,god1 for ,christ's sake1 looks upon us as though we had not sinned4 ,he accounts us just1 for ,jesus' sake1 although we are not just in reality4 ,and herein it is that gospel justification differs from legal justification4 ,the individual who is accused of crime and who is brought into court and determined1 by a jury of his peers1 not to be guilty1 is at once acquitted and released from all penalty4 ,he is justified solely on the ground of his innocence4 ,but no man ever has been or ever will be justified in the court of heaven on the ground of his innocence4 ,every responsible human being has broken the law of ,god4 ,all have sinned and come short of the glory of ,god4 ,and none of those who have broken the law can be justified by the law1 that is to say1 not one4 ,the law justifies those1 and those only1 who keep it4 ,none of us have kept it1 not one of the race of men save only the man ,christ ,jesus4 ,the law condemns all those who break it4 ,all the race of men have broken it save only the man ,christ ,jesus4 ,therefore1 all are under condemnation4 ,but condemnation is incompatible with justification4 ,therefore1 again1 by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified4 ,are we not1 then1 in an absolutely hopeless condition8 ,we should be so but for ,christ4 ,but1 blessed be ,god1 ,he hath found a ransom4 ,all we like sheep have gone astray2 we have turned every one to his own way1 and the ,lord hath laid on ,him the iniquity of us all4 ,jesus ,christ ,himself bore our sins in ,his own body on the tree4 ,and so it comes to pass that we can be freely justified by ,his grace1 not because of our innocency but because ,he bore the penalty in our stead4 ,he took the place which was rightfully ours and that is on the cross4 ,he procured for us the place which was and is rightfully ,his1 and that is at ,god's right hand4 ,he suffered what we deserved1 and by that very suffering ,he made us partakers of what ,he deserves4 ,glory forever to ,his ,holy ,name6 ,by the redemption that is in ,christ ,jesus1 therefore1 justice is satisfied1 and the penalty of the broken law is removed4 ,god is infinitely merciful1 but ,he is also infinitely just4 ,he loves the sinner with a boundless love1 but ,he hates the sin with a boundless hate4 ,he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity1 and will not look upon sin with the smallest degree of allowance4 ,his mercy and ,his love may compassionate the sinner1 but this will be of no avail so long as ,his justice is against him4 ,shall not the ,judge of all the earth do right8 ,but in the marvelous plan of salvation by a crucified and risen ,lord1 both the attributes of mercy and justice are enlisted on behalf of the sinner4 ,the mercy of ,god pardons ,him1 the justice of ,god justifies ,him1 and all for ,jesus' sake4 ,mercy and truth have met together1 righteousness and peace have kissed each other4 ,god can be just and the justifier of him that believeth in ,jesus4 ,if we confess our sins ,he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins4 ,and in accordance with the way of salvation which ,he ,himself has devised1 we can now plead with ,him that ,he would be unjust not to forgive us when we have complied with these conditions4 ,and so we arrive at the conclusion that justification is an act of ,god's grace by which our sins are pardoned for the sake of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and this act is instantaneous4 ,god does not pardon sins gradually1 nor one at a time1 nor by piecemeal1 but to every one who repents and believes1 ,he utters the gracious language1 ,thy sins1 which are many1 are all forgiven thee4 ,as if by a single stroke of the recording angel's pen1 the whole dark record is blotted out forever4 ,as far as the east is from the west so far hath ,he removed our transgressions from us4 ,glory4 ,regeneration is a work of grace which always accompanies justification4 ,god does not justify a sinner without1 at the same time1 giving him a new life4 ,this new life is a spiritual life imparted to the soul1 which before was dead in trespasses and sins1 by the ,divine energy of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,if a sinner should be pardoned1 without1 at the same time1 receiving a new nature1 he would inevitably fall into sin again4 ,his lifetime on earth would be spent in sinning and repenting4 ,but our merciful ,father having for ,christ's sake looked upon him as just and righteous1 when he was not so in reality1 now bestows upon him a new nature which is just and righteous4 ,he makes him a partaker1 indeed1 of the ,divine nature1 and that is a nature which is holy and just and good4 ,and this is the new birth4 ,men may be full of physical life and of intellectual life1 but until they are born from above they are totally destitute of spiritual life4 ,regeneration1 therefore1 is that act of ,god's grace by which we are born again4 ,adoption is the reception of the newly justified and regenerated believer into the family of ,god4 ,no longer enemies1 nor even strangers and foreigners1 those who have accepted ,christ as their ,saviour1 now receive the adoption of sons4 ,they become the children of ,god by faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,this is their pedigree and they rejoice to declare it4 ,a human governor or ruler may pardon a guilty criminal1 and grant him a reprieve1 but he never takes him into his own family4 ,he may forgive the guilty one1 but he cannot bestow upon him a new nature1 nor can he consent to recognize him as a brother or a son4 ,but ,god not only remits the sins of those whom ,he saves1 ,he not only delivers them from wrath and from punishment1 but ,he gives them a new nature by which they can respond to ,his love1 and ,he takes them into ,his own household as children and heirs1 yea1 as joint heirs with ,jesus ,christ4 ,ye are all the children of ,god by faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the witness of the ,spirit is something not easily defined1 but it is well known by those who experience it4 ,it is an impression or consciousness wrought into the mind of the believer by the ,holy ,ghost1 which gives him the satisfactory assurance that he is a child of ,god4 ,before this1 he believes1 now he knows4 ,this witness1 therefore1 expels doubt and infuses into the heart of the new-born child of ,god1 a calm1 definite and indisputable persuasion that all is now right between himself and his ,heavenly ,father4 ,the ,spirit ,himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of ,god4 ,ye have received the ,spirit of adoption1 whereby we cry1 ,abba1 ,father4 ,and because ye are sons1 ,god hath sent forth the ,spirit of ,his ,son into your hearts1 crying1 ,abba1 ,father4 ,now the graces that have been mentioned1 namely1 justification1 regeneration1 adoption and the witness of the ,spirit1 are all received co-instantaneously4 ,they always accompany each other1 and whoever has one of them has them all4 ,the witness of the ,spirit1 it is true1 is not always a constant experience4 ,it may be intermittent1 but1 nevertheless1 whenever it is present1 it accompanies or attends the other experiences to which we have alluded4 ,and we may add that all these graces are but different aspects of the same salvation and are properly and conveniently designated1 in common language1 by the single term conversion1 which term1 therefore1 must be understood to include and imply justification1 regeneration1 adoption and the witness of the ,spirit4 ,it is proper1 also1 in this connection to remark that conversion is always a definite and instantaneous event1 and never a prolonged process4 ,just so certainly as every human being that comes into this world has a definite1 natural birthday1 so every one that comes into the kingdom of ,god has a definite1 spiritual birthday4 ,some people do not know when their natural birthday occurs1 nevertheless1 they know that they have been born4 ,some ,christians do not know when their spiritual birthday occurs4 ,nevertheless1 they know that they have been born again4 ,conversion is the crossing of a definite line out of ,satan's kingdom into ,god's kingdom4 ,there is no half-way ground1 there is no neutral territory1 there is no place where a man can truthfully say1 ,i am neither converted nor unconverted4 ,one moment he is out of the ark of safety1 the next moment he is in it4 ,entire sanctification is an act of ,god's grace by which inbred sin is removed and the heart made holy4 ,inbred sin or inherited depravity is the inward cause of which our outward sins are the effects4 ,it is the bitter root of which actual sins are the bitter fruits4 ,it is the natural evil tendency of the human heart in our fallen condition4 ,it is the being of sin which lies back of the doing of sin4 ,it is that within us which says ,no1 to ,god1 and ,yes1 to ,satan4 ,it exists in every human being that comes into the world as a bias or proclivity to evil4 ,it is called in the ,new ,testament1 the flesh1 the body of sin1 our old man1 sin that dwelleth in me1 and the simple term sin in the singular number4 ,in the ,old ,testament it is called sin and iniquity4 ,behold1 says ,david1 ,i was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me4 ,and when the ,seraph brought the live coal and laid it upon the mouth of ,isaiah1 the prophet1 his words were1 ,lo1 this hath touched thy lips and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged4 ,now all ,christian denominations are agreed as to the real existence of this inbred sin and also as to the fact that it is not removed at conversion4 ,this infection of nature doth remain1 says the ,anglican ,confession1 yea1 even in them that have been regenerated4 ,most church creeds1 indeed1 give no reason to expect1 and most ,christian believers do not expect to be rid of sin till near or in the hour of death4 ,and it is regarded as serious heresy in some quarters for a man to either preach or claim that the blood of ,jesus ,christ does really cleanse from all sin4 ,but ,god has in every age and in every dispensation required ,his children to be holy4 ,and to be holy signifies the destruction or removal of inbred sin1 nothing more and nothing less and nothing else than that4 ,how this is accomplished will be discussed further on1 but here we say that the removal of innate depravity is entire sanctification1 and that ,god has most surely made provision in the atonement of ,jesus ,christ for the removal of innate depravity4 ,therefore1 ,he has made provision for entire sanctification1 and1 therefore again1 this wondrous grace is obtainable4 ,inbred sin goes back to the fall of man in the garden of ,eden4 ,if not as old as the human race1 it is at least as old as the fall4 ,since sin entered through the beguiling of our mother1 ,eve1 by the serpent1 inbred sin has existed as a unit of evil in every child of ,adam and ,eve4 ,the only exception is the man1 ,christ ,jesus1 the ,god man1 the ,divine man1 the promised seed that should bruise the serpent's head4 ,but as ,he1 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 was manifested to destroy the works of the devil1 and as inbred sin is one of the works of the devil1 therefore its destruction is provided for in the atonement1 and1 therefore1 still again1 entire sanctification is obtainable4 ,the simplest meaning of the word sanctify is to separate or to devote to sacred uses4 ,it has this signification nearly always in the ,old ,testament and in a few passages in the ,new4 ,in other words1 whatever is consecrated is sanctified in this limited sense4 ,but from the primary meaning is easily derived its secondary and prominent meaning1 of separation from all sin1 inward as well as outward1 and this is what ,paul calls being sanctified wholly4 ,it is entire sanctification as distinguished from partial sanctification4 ,this latter appertains to all ,christians1 and is technically so used in the ,new ,testament4 ,the former is the experience of those1 and those only1 from whom inbred sin has been removed4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,in ,,patriarchal ,,times4 ,for the first twenty-five centuries after the creation of man1 he was without a written law4 ,so far1 at least1 as the descendants of ,seth are concerned1 the government1 during those early times1 seems to have been patriarchal4 ,the father of a family retained his authority over his children and his children's children so long as he lived1 and when he died1 the branch families did not separate1 but continued their allegiance to some other patriarch1 usually the eldest son of the former4 ,a number of families under their respective patriarchs constituted a tribe1 and from the family patriarchs was selected a prince for the whole tribe4 ,among the antediluvian patriarchs were ,adam1 ,seth1 ,enoch and ,noah4 ,those after the flood were ,noah1 ,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,jacob and each of the twelve sons of ,jacob4 ,after ,jacob's death1 it is most likely that ,joseph acted1 in some sense1 as the prince of the tribe during his lifetime4 ,then came slavery and oppression and deliverance through ,moses1 and the giving of the law4 ,as ,god's revelation to man has been progressive1 first just a few faint streaks of light that usher in the dawn1 then broad daylight and sunrise1 and finally the meridian splendor of the noontide1 we are not to expect1 in these early times1 the full and distinct teaching on the subject of holiness1 which we find in the ,mosaic law1 in the writings of the prophets1 and especially and super-eminently in the ,new ,testament4 ,the word holy does not occur in the book of ,genesis1 and the word sanctify is found only once1 where ,jehovah blessed the seventh day and sanctified it4 ,and yet there are1 even in these patriarchal times1 several narratives of extreme interest1 which give us glimpses1 at least1 of the purpose of ,god that ,his people should be holy1 and we even find intimations of ,his method of sanctification1 by conferring it as a second experience upon ,his already saved children1 as is so clearly revealed in the ,new ,testament4 ,and ,enoch walked with ,god2 and he was not1 for ,god took him4 ,such is the record in ,genesis1 but when we turn to the eleventh of ,hebrews1 the faith chapter1 we find that by faith ,enoch was translated that he should not see death2 and was not found because ,god had translated him1 for2 before his translation1 he had this testimony that he pleased ,god4 ,now1 if ,enoch1 even amid the wickedness of antediluvian ages1 walked with ,god and pleased ,god1 and was translated that he should not see death1 there surely can be no reasonable doubt that he was a holy man1 an entirely sanctified man1 and hence one whose sins had been washed away in the blood of the lamb1 that was slain from the foundation of the world4 ,noah was a just man and perfect in his generations2 and ,noah walked with ,god4 ,the prophet ,amos exclaims most pertinently1 ,can two walk together unless they be agreed8 ,it is certain1 therefore1 that ,god and ,noah were agreed1 but ,god1 who is infinitely pure and holy1 can never be agreed with any person or anything that is unholy4 ,hence1 whatever may be the proper signification of the word perfect1 as applied to ,god's children in ,old ,testament times1 we can scarcely avoid the conclusion that ,noah was a holy man1 an entirely sanctified man1 and this notwithstanding his subsequent error in regard to drinking too much wine1 of whose ill effects we may1 charitably1 suppose he may have been1 up to the time of this sad experience1 ignorant4 ,abraham dwelt with his father1 ,terah1 who was an idolater1 in ,ur of the ,chaldees1 when he received the call of ,god to go entirely away from his kindred and his father's house1 and depart into a land of separation1 a land which the ,lord would show him4 ,he obeyed the call1 and this typifies conversion4 ,he went out not knowing whither he went1 but only knowing that the ,lord was leading him4 ,at his first move1 he was accompanied by his father4 ,and he came out of his native land1 it is true1 but not yet into the promised land4 ,he came to ,haran and dwelt there1 or to give the record in full1 ,and ,terah took ,abraham1 his son1 and ,lot1 the son of ,haran1 his son's son1 and ,sarai1 his daughter-in-law1 his son ,abram's wife1 and they went forth with them from ,ur of the ,chaldees1 to go into the land of ,canaan2 and they came unto ,haran and dwelt there4 ,continuing the account in his dying oration1 the martyr ,stephen says1 ,and from thence when his father was dead1 he removed him into this land1 wherein ye now dwell1 but in ,genesis the statement is1 ,and ,abram took ,sarai1 his wife1 and ,lot1 his brother's son1 and all their substance that they had gathered1 and the souls that they had gotten in ,haran1 and they went forth to go into the land of ,canaan1 and into the land of ,canaan they came4 ,the last tie of nature was sundered when the old man died1 and then ,abram took the second step1 which brought him into the promised land4 ,there are two distinct stages in his experience before he reached the place1 which ,god designed him to occupy4 ,and these we may as well regard as typical1 if nothing more1 of the first experience under the gospel--that of regeneration--and of the second experience as well1 which is entire sanctification4 ,in the history of ,abraham1 a very beautiful and mysterious episode occurs1 and that is the story of his transient but highly important meeting with ,melchizedek1 after his successful expedition against the kings1 who had despoiled ,sodom and carried away his nephew1 ,lot4 ,the sacred narrative is as follows1 viz43 ,and ,melchizedek1 king of ,salem1 brought forth bread and wine1 and he was the priest of the ,most ,high ,god4 ,and he blessed him and said1 ,blessed be ,abram of the ,most ,high ,god1 possessor of heaven and earth2 and blessed be the ,most ,high ,god1 which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand4 ,and he gave him tithes of all4 ,no other mention is made of ,melchizedek until ,david writes the #aajth ,psalm1 and this was nearly one thousand years after ,abraham4 ,the ,psalmist writing by inspiration1 and alluding beyond all reasonable doubt to the ,messiah1 says1 ,the ,lord hath sworn and will not repent1 ,thou art a priest forever after the order of ,melchizedek4 ,and then1 again1 the inspired record drops ,melchizedek out of sight1 as it were1 for another thousand years1 and then once more brings him to the front in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 where he is described in glowing language as first being by interpretation ,king of righteousness1 and after that1 also1 ,king of ,salem1 which is king of peace2 without father1 without mother1 without genealogy 7,r4 ,v47 having neither beginning of days nor end of life1 but made like unto the son of ,god1 abideth a priest continually4 ,comparing1 then1 the different allusions to this most remarkable personage1 the following inferences seem fairly deducible therefrom3 7#a7 ,melchizedek1 being made like unto the ,son of ,god1 is preeminently the ,old ,testament type of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ in his kingly and priestly offices4 ,both ,melchizedek and ,christ are priests1 and yet the former is not of the chosen family4 ,he is a ,canaanite4 ,he is1 unquestionably1 greater than ,abraham4 ,of his origin1 his ancestry and his descendants1 we have no account4 ,he brought forth bread and wine4 ,so did his antitype at the ,last ,supper4 ,the priesthood of ,melchizedek was before that of ,aaron4 ,aaron was a ,levite1 and ,levi paid tithes to ,melchizedek in ,abraham1 his ancestor4 ,and the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews argues most conclusively that since ,melchizedek was without beginning or end1 and greater than ,abraham1 and with a priesthood that existed centuries before the ,levitical priesthood was instituted1 therefore ,christ1 his great antitype1 who is from everlasting to everlasting1 and who hath an unchangeable priesthood1 is to abolish the ,aaronic priesthood1 whose institution was for a temporary purpose1 and was fulfilled when ,christ came1 who was a priest not after the order of ,aaron because ,he belonged to another tribe1 but a priest forever after the order of ,melchizedek4 ,but ,melchizedek was not only a priest1 he was also a king4 ,and it was not only in his everlasting priesthood1 but in his regal office also1 that he was a type of the ,messiah4 ,david was a prophet and a king1 ,ezekiel was a prophet and a priest1 ,jesus1 only1 combined in ,his own person the three offices of prophet1 priest and king4 ,now1 if ,melchizedek was priest of the ,most ,high ,god1 if he was greater than ,abraham1 if he was a type of ,jesus ,christ in ,his kingly and priestly offices1 it is impossible not to regard him as a holy man4 ,he was cleansed from all sin4 ,he was sanctified wholly4 ,he was made like unto the ,son of ,god1 and the ,son of ,god is eternally holy4 ,praise ,his name4 ,it is1 surely1 cause of devout thankfulness1 that even in those primitive and patriarchal times1 when the earth was full of wickedness and violence1 that even then ,god had ,his witnesses to experimental and practical holiness4 ,before leaving this point of the eternal priesthood of ,christ1 let me remark that it was a sad day for ,his ,church when the idea became prevalent1 that ministers of the gospel are in any official sense to be regarded as priests4 ,this serious error may have been derived1 in part1 from ,judaism and1 in part1 from paganism4 ,it has become incorporated in the creed of the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 and the ,greek ,church as well1 and has been productive of the most disastrous results4 ,among the deliverances of the ,council of ,trent1 held at intervals from #aede to #aefd1 and the last ,council1 which ,romish authorities regard as of binding authority1 are the following sentences1 quoted by the late ,a4 ,a4 ,hodge1 in his ,outlines of ,theology3 ,whereas1 therefore1 in the ,new ,testament1 the ,catholic ,church has received1 from the institution of ,christ1 the holy1 visible sacrifice of the ,eucharist2 it must needs1 also1 be confessed that there is1 in that church1 a new1 visible and external priesthood1 into which the old has been translated4 ,and the sacred ,scriptures show1 and the traditions of the ,catholic ,church have always taught1 that this priesthood was instituted by the same ,lord1 our ,saviour1 and that to the apostles1 and their successors in the priesthood1 was the power delivered of consecrating1 offering and administering his body and blood1 as1 also1 of forgiving and retaining sins4 ,it is to be feared that not all ,protestants are entirely clear of this same idea of the priesthood of the ministry1 and that1 in thought1 at least1 many substitute this for the true priesthood1 which appertains to all believers4 ,now1 the office of a priest is to stand between ,god and man4 ,he mediates1 and this ,jesus did both by propitiation and continues to do1 forever1 by intercession4 ,he ever liveth to make intercession for us4 ,he offered one sacrifice for sins forever4 ,if ,he has an unchangeable priesthood1 and has already offered ,himself as a sacrifice1 sufficient for the sins of all mankind1 the benefits of which each and every one may obtain on the simple condition of repentance and faith1 what possible need can there be of any human priesthood to come between ,god and the sinner8 ,says ,george ,fox1 ,friends1 let nothing come between your souls and ,god1 but ,christ1 and we say ,amen4 ,to sum up on this particular point1 we may say that the ancient priesthood1 both of ,melchizedek1 the ,gentile1 and of ,aaron1 the ,jew1 with his descendants1 were nothing more than types2 and a type can have no real existence after the antitype has come4 ,therefore1 there is no place for a human priesthood under the ,christian dispensation4 ,we are taught in ,holy ,scripture that no one can come to ,god except through ,christ1 but we are also taught that all are invited1 and all may come directly to ,him4 ,all the officers belonging to the ,new ,testament ,church1 whether ministers1 deacons1 presbyters1 bishops1 elders1 or even apostles1 are described not as priests but messengers1 watchmen1 heralds of salvation1 teachers1 rulers1 overseers and shepherds4 ,their function is to preach the word1 to teach1 to rule1 but never to mediate4 ,it is clear1 therefore1 that ministers as such are not priests4 ,but we must not forget that1 in a very important sense1 all ,christians are priests4 ,but this is through ,christ and in ,christ1 the one great and eternal ,high ,priest4 ,they are priests because they are in ,christ4 ,and not only priests1 but kings as well4 ,and not only kings and priests1 but prophets as well4 ,all these blessed privileges are theirs1 solely by virtue of their union and fellowship with ,christ1 who1 in a mystical and spiritual sense1 makes them to be partakers of ,his own priesthood1 ,his own royalty1 and ,his own prophetic office4 ,thus we hear ,peter exclaiming1 under the inspiration of the ,spirit1 ,but ye are a chosen generation1 a royal priesthood1 a holy nation1 a peculiar people4 ,and again3 ,ye also1 as lively stones1 are built up1 a spiritual house1 an holy priesthood1 to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to ,god by ,jesus ,christ4 ,precisely4 ,if we are priests1 we must perform the functions of a priest1 and one of these functions is the offering of sacrifice4 ,what1 then1 are the sacrifices which are to be offered by the ,christian ,priest8 ,certainly1 not any expiatory or meritorious sacrifices4 ,these are1 forever1 precluded by the fact that ,christ hath offered one sacrifice for sins forever4 ,nothing can be added to1 and nothing can be subtracted from1 that infinite and all-sufficient offering4 ,the first sacrifice to be made by the ,christian priest is the surrender of his own body1 with all its appetites1 organs and capabilities1 to ,god4 ,listen to ,paul4 ,i beseech you1 therefore1 brethren1 by the mercies of ,god1 that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable unto ,god1 which is your reasonable service4 ,your bodies1 because if you are ,christians1 you have already presented your hearts2 your bodies1 because through the body1 too often temptation enters into the soul and leads it to actual sin4 ,your bodies1 because of their wonderful mechanism and their equally wonderful activities4 ,if surrendered to the ,lord1 ,he makes them the very thing they were originally designed to be1 namely1 the obedient servants of the soul1 and the soul is already ,his own obedient servant1 so that when the soul commands and the body obeys1 both are working for ,god1 and when the soul says ,go1 and the body runs hither and thither1 both are going upon ,god's errands4 ,it will be observed that the body is to be presented a living sacrifice1 not a dead one4 ,all its boundless activities are to be given up to ,god4 ,the expression1 no doubt1 implies that the whole man1 described by the apostle1 with his inspired trichotomy1 as spirit1 soul and body are to be consecrated unto ,god1 to be ,his1 and ,his forever1 and henceforth to be ready to be1 to do1 and to suffer all ,his blessed will4 ,the command is yield yourselves1 not a certain portion of your time1 nor a certain portion of your money1 nor a certain portion of your effort1 nor your sins1 nor your depraved appetites1 nor your forbidden indulgences4 ,you cannot consecrate your alcohol1 nor your tobacco1 nor your opium1 nor your card-playing1 nor your dancing1 nor your theatre-going to ,god4 ,he wants none of these things4 ,all actual and known sins must be abandoned at conversion4 ,consecration is for a subsequent and a deeper work4 ,none but a ,christian believer can thus present his body unto the ,lord4 ,sinners may repent1 but ,christians are enjoined to yield themselves unto ,god1 as those who are alive from the dead2 not as those who are dead in trespasses and sins4 ,whatever surrender the sinner may and must make in order to be saved1 the believer must make a deeper1 fuller1 more complete surrender1 of a different character and for a different purpose4 ,that purpose is that he may be wholly sanctified1 filled with the ,spirit1 and used to the utmost extent of his capacity for the glory of ,god4 ,consecration means yielding yourselves unto ,god4 ,when you yield yourself you yield everything else4 ,all the details are included in the one surrender of yourself4 ,and remember1 also1 that your consecration is not to ,god's service1 not to ,his work1 not to a life of obedience and sacrifice1 not to the church1 not to the ,christian ,endeavor1 not to the ,epworth ,league1 not to any organization1 not to the cause of ,god2 it is to ,god ,himself4 ,yield yourselves unto ,god4 ,it is1 therefore1 a personal transaction between a personal human being and a personal ,god4 ,your work1 your obedience1 your sacrifice1 your right place and your allotted duty1 will all follow in due time4 ,the next sacrifice to be made by the ,christian priest1 is that of testimony and thanksgiving4 ,by ,him1 therefore1 says the author of the ,hebrews1 let us offer the sacrifice of praise to ,god continually1 that is1 the fruit of our lips1 giving thanks to ,his ,name4 ,and the next priestly offering of the ,christian is a holy life1 for the inspired author goes on in the next verse1 ,but to do good1 and to communicate forget not2 for with such sacrifices ,god is well pleased4 ,offer1 then1 beloved1 the body1 with the soul and spirit2 offer the fruit of the lips and offer the fruit of the life1 and you will walk worthily of your priesthood4 ,glory6 ,the patriarch ,jacob had two distinct and well-defined experiences about twenty years apart4 ,the first of these was at ,bethel1 when1 in loneliness and anguish of mind1 he was plodding on his way toward ,mesopotamia to escape the vengeance of his brother ,esau4 ,this vengeance was not causeless1 and ,jacob lay down upon the ground with a stone for a pillow1 not only distressed in mind from fear and anxiety1 but also1 we may well suppose1 not altogether free from the condemnation of a guilty conscience4 ,but ,jacob was a man who had faith in ,god's promises1 even if he did not always obey ,his commands4 ,and when he lay down to sleep under the open sky1 in a state of mind1 sad1 forlorn1 fearful and contrite1 ,god was watching over him1 and when he awoke from the wondrous vision there vouchsafed to him1 he perceived that ,god was in the place1 and he found that he himself1 also1 was a new man4 ,now he could not only believe intellectually what ,god had said1 but he could and did enter into covenant with ,him1 taking ,jehovah for his ,god1 and vowing the tenth or his income to be given to ,him4 ,this was such a change of mind and heart as constituted a real conversion4 ,when1 after the many mercies and many trials that fell to his portion whilst dwelling with his uncle ,laban1 and after the lapse of two score years1 he was returning to his father's house1 no longer poor and lonely1 but with flocks and herds and wives and children1 again he was encountered by the fear of his brother ,esau who was approaching him with four hundred men4 ,then it was that there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day4 ,note it was the man wrestling with ,jacob--and the man was the angel1--,jehovah1 the pre-existent ,christ--and the object of his wrestling was to get the ,jacob nature1 the old man1 the body of sin1 out of ,jacob4 ,but ,jacob resisted1 until by a touch the ,divine wrestler made it impossible for him to resist any longer4 ,now he had to cease his wrestling but he could still cling1 and he could still cry1 ,i will not let thee go until thou bless me4 ,jacob's will was now firmly set upon the blessing2 he could ho longer resist the will of the ,blesser1 but one thing more he had to do1 and that was to tell his name4 ,i am ,jacob--supplanter1 sinner1 and then ,he blessed him there2 ,jabbok means extinguishment1 and ,jacob's self-life was extinguished there4 ,he told his name1 and in the telling lost it4 ,no longer the supplanter--but ,israel1 the prince1 the prevailer1 the overcomer1 and ,israel was now a wholly sanctified man4 ,beloved1 tell ,god your name--sinner--seek with fixed determination for the blessing of holiness1 fulfill the conditions1 and you also shall prevail1 and your name will be changed from sinner to saint1 priest1 prophet1 king1 having the blessing of entire sanctification1 and the ,blesser ,himself in the person of the ,indwelling ,comforter4 ,praise the ,lord6 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,in ,,type4 ,the ,mosaic dispensation was legal1 ceremonial and typical4 ,the law having a shadow of the good things to come1 says the author of the ,hebrews4 ,but a shadow always points to a substance2 and so far as holiness is commanded1 and so far as it is shadowed forth in the ceremonial law1 we shall find that there is a corresponding substance and reality in the gospel of ,christ4 ,in the first place1 if we study carefully the provisions of the ,mosaic law1 we shall be struck with the many forms of ceremonial uncleanness described therein1 and with the divers washings1 not only of the hands oft1 but of the whole body1 and of cups and pots1 brazen vessels and of tables4 ,all these point to the fact that ,god will have a clean people1 and a clean people is a holy people4 ,the same thing is vividly exhibited in the distinction between clean and unclean animals1 the one kind to be used as food1 and the other to be disused4 ,of land animals1 only such as both chew the end and divide the hoof1 might then be eaten4 ,and of aquatic1 only such as have both fins and scales were to be accounted clean4 ,there can be no doubt that this restriction in regard to food is full of meaning4 ,god help us all as ,christian believers to distinguish between the clean and the unclean in a spiritual sense1 and not to forget that ,god will have ,his people now pure in heart1 clean in soul1 holy both within and without4 ,the seal of the covenant with ,abraham was circumcision1 and this became the perpetual rite by which his descendants were admitted to the rights and privileges of that covenant4 ,every male child shall be circumcised4 ,but this rite was an outward symbol of a circumcision not made with hands1 in the putting off of the body of the flesh1 in the circumcision of ,christ 7,col4 #b3 ,,ii4 ,r4,v47 ,and in ,romans #b3 #bh-bi1 we are told that ,he is not a ,jew1 which is one outwardly2 neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh2 but he is a ,jew which is one inwardly2 and circumcision is that of the heart1 in the spirit1 and not in the letter2 whose praise is not of men but of ,god4 ,beloved reader1 may you and ,i know what it is to experience the inward circumcision1 made without hands1 even the putting off of the body of the flesh4 ,and this is entire sanctification4 ,in the consecration of ,aaron and his sons to the priests' office1 not only were they to be adorned with holy garments for glory and for beauty1 not only was the breast-plate to be set with twelve kinds of precious stones1 but the plate for the mitre was to be made of pure gold1 and engraved with the motto ,holiness to the ,lord4 ,this was to be always upon the forehead of the ,high ,priest1 and must signify that ,aaron was to be the holy priest of a ,holy ,god1 and that the law required a continuous holiness1 as most assuredly the gospel does also4 ,now1 in the most important sense both the priesthood and the sacrifices were typical of ,christ4 ,in the mediatorial work of redemption1 he was both the priest and the victim4 ,he offered ,himself4 ,and no one will deny that ,he was holy1 harmless1 undefiled and separate from sinners4 ,the holy priest1 under the law typified the holy priest1 who is a priest forever after the order of ,melchizedek4 ,but under the gospel dispensation all ,christians are priests4 ,but ye are a chosen generation1 a royal priesthood1 a holy nation1 a peculiar people4 ,and we are priests1 not for the purpose of expiation1 for expiation was completed by the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 when ,he bore our sins in ,his own body on the tree1 but priests to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to ,god through ,jesus ,christ4 ,and every such priest must needs be continuously holy4 ,the spiritual sacrifices which the ,christian priest must offer are1 as previously stated1 7#a7 his body1 with all its members and capacities4 ,the heart was given to ,christ at conversion4 ,it is1 however1 largely through the body that the soul is led into sin1 and it is through the body1 also1 that the soul must perform its work for ,christ1 so long as soul and body are united in probation4 ,hence1 the ,apostle exclaims in the twelfth of ,romans1 ,i beseech you1 therefore1 brethren1 by the mercies of ,god that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable unto ,god1 which is your reasonable service4 ,the ,christian must offer 7#b7 also his continual testimony4 ,he must hold fast the confession of his faith without wavering4 ,by him1 therefore1 let us offer the sacrifices of praise to ,god continually1 that is1 the fruit of our lips giving thanks to ,his name4 ,and1 finally 7#c71 the ,christian priest must offer the sacrifice of a holy life4 ,but to do good1 and to communicate forget not1 for with such sacrifices ,god is well pleased4 ,beloved1 let us ask ourselves if we are constantly offering as a holy priesthood1 a consecrated body1 a confessing tongue and a godly life4 ,amen4 ,this subject has already been alluded to under a different head1 but it will bear repetition4 ,in the ceremonial used under the law for the cleansing of the leper1 we find an impressive type or symbol of holiness4 ,leprosy is most clearly and strikingly a type of inbred sin4 ,it is loathsome1 unclean1 incurable1 fatal and hereditary4 ,the leper was driven from society2 he could not dwell in the camp nor in the city4 ,he was an outcast4 ,none must be permitted to approach him4 ,they must be warned off by the despairing cry unclean1 unclean4 ,nothing can be conceived more desolate or more hopeless than the condition of the leper1 unless it be1 indeed1 the sinner who is an alien from the commonwealth of ,israel1 a stranger to the covenants of promise1 having no hope and without ,god in the world4 ,but to the leper1 in many instances1 came the glad day of cleansing4 ,he might not come into the camp1 until the priest went forth to him4 ,the priest and no one else could pronounce him clean4 ,and none but ,christ has any authority to tell the sinner that he is converted1 or the believer that he is sanctified4 ,a clean bird must be slain over living water1 another bird dipped into this water flies away toward heaven with bloody wing2 the leper is sprinkled seven times1 to denote the completeness or perfection of his cleansing1 with blood by means of hyssop and scarlet wool bound to a stick of cedar2 he must wash his clothes2 he must pass a razor over his whole body1 and bathe the whole body likewise in water4 ,certainly1 all this needs no explanation4 ,surely1 here is atonement by blood1 and cleansing by the washing of water through the word1 as plainly described as symbolic language can utter it4 ,all the bloody sacrifices of the ,jewish law1 the daily sacrifice both morning and evening1 the paschal lamb1 the ,day of ,atonement1 the offerings at the various feasts1 and innumerable sacrifices offered for individuals or for the whole people1 the guilt offering1 the sin offering1 one for what we have done1 the other for what we are1 the peace offering1 the burnt offering1 these1 also1 all point to the ,lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world4 ,in all the sacrifices which we have named1 a life was taken and blood was shed4 ,almost all things are1 by the law1 purged with blood1 and without shedding of blood is no remission4 ,but turn now to the ,new ,testament1 and read that ,it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins4 ,read again1 ,if the blood of bulls and goats1 and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh1 how much more shall the blood of ,christ1 who through the eternal ,spirit offered ,himself without spot to ,god1 purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living ,god4 ,read again1 ,in ,him we have redemption through ,his blood--,having made peace through the blood of ,his cross--,ye who are far off are made nigh by the blood of ,christ--,being now justified by ,his blood--,that ,he might sanctify the people with ,his own blood--and especially ,the blood of ,jesus ,christ1 ,his ,son1 cleanseth us from all sin4 ,here1 ,i insert a quotation from that saintly man1 ,dr4 ,edgar ,m4 ,levy4 ,when an oblation for sin was offered up under the old dispensation1 the priest was commanded to dip his finger in blood1 and to sprinkle it seven times before the ,lord4 ,this denoted the perfection of the offering4 ,nor would the blessed antitype come short of the type4 ,seven times1 at least1 did our ,lord pour forth ,his precious blood4 ,he was circumcised and there1 of necessity1 was blood4 ,he was buffeted on the mouth1 and by such brutal hands1 that this must needs have been attended with blood4 ,he was scourged1 and from ,roman scouring there was1 of course1 blood4 ,the crown of thorns was driven into ,his precious temples and1 surely1 this was not without blood4 ,the sharp nails penetrated into ,his hands and feet1 and again there was blood4 ,and one of the soldiers1 with a spear1 pierced ,his side1 and forthwith came thereout blood and water4 ,the blood of ,jesus1 then1 is the procuring cause of our sanctification as it is of our justification4 ,glory be to ,his ,name forever for the precious1 cleansing blood4 ,and every ,christian can heartily join in the immortal hymn of ,toplady on the ,rock of ,ages1 and especially with the rendering now frequently given to the conclusion of the first stanza1 viz43 ,let the water and the blood ,from ,thy wounded side which flowed1 ,be of sin the double cure ,save from wrath--and make me pure4 ,the pure olive oil is mentioned many times in ,scripture1 and was used for a great variety of purposes4 ,in typology1 however1 it has special reference to the office work of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,he is distinctively the ,sanctifier1 and to be filled with the ,spirit is designated by the ,apostle ,john as the unction or the anointing4 ,the holy anointing oil was to be sprinkled upon the tabernacle and all its sacred vessels4 ,it was also poured upon the heads of prophets1 priests and kings1 as a necessary qualification for the discharge of their respective offices4 ,there can be no doubt but that this use of the anointing oil and the sweet perfume1 which none were permitted to imitate or counterfeit1 has a direct typical reference to holiness4 ,the sacred writer1 indeed1 says as much4 ,that they may be most holy2 whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy4 ,and as all ,christians are kings and priests unto ,god1 it is necessary that they also be anointed with the ,holy ,spirit1 as their types in the ,old ,testament dispensation were anointed with the outward oil4 ,be ye clean that bear the vessels of the ,lord4 ,a priest must be holy4 ,we have already spoken of leprosy as a type of inbred sin1 and of the requirement of blood-shedding in the cleansing of the leper4 ,but before that cleansing was complete1 the anointing oil1 also1 was to be applied to the leper1 who was healed of his malady4 ,as the priest had already touched his ear1 his thumb and his toe with the blood of the sacrifice1 so now he touched the same parts also with the oil4 ,first1 the blood2 afterwards1 the oil4 ,and thus it is in the wondrous plan of salvation through the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,first1 atonement for guilt and to secure pardon2 afterwards1 the ,holy ,ghost baptism for complete cleansing4 ,first1 justification through the blood2 then entire sanctification through the ,spirit4 ,the anointing oil was also to be applied to the ear1 the thumb and the toe of ,aaron and his sons in their consecration to the priesthood and1 finally1 poured upon their mitred heads that it might reach the beard and the skirts of the garments1 but by no means touch the flesh4 ,and so1 beloved1 we must be touched with blood and oil as to our spiritual ears1 that we may take heed how we hear and what we hear2 and as to our hands that they may do the work of ,god in all righteousness1 and goodness and truth2 and as to our feet1 that they may run swiftly and beautifully upon the errands of redeeming love2 and1 at last1 upon our heads and running down overall the person to purify and energize the whole man1 that we may be ever1 only1 all for ,him4 ,praise the ,lord4 ,and this can never happen while the flesh1 the carnal mind1 is still alive4 ,jesus ,christ ,himself1 the ,son of ,god and the ,son of ,man1 ,he who was holy1 harmless1 undefiled and separate from sinners1 was1 nevertheless1 anointed with the ,holy ,ghost as a needful qualification for ,his mediatorial work4 ,in the synagogue at ,nazareth1 ,he read part of the sixty-first chapter of ,isaiah4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord ,god is upon me3 because the ,lord hath anointed ,me to preach good tidings unto the meek2 ,he had sent ,me to bind up the broken-hearted1 to proclaim liberty to the captives1 and the opening of the prison to them that are bound2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the ,lord--and here ,he ceased ,his quotation abruptly1 without saying a word about the day of vengeance of our ,god4 ,it was now a day of grace1 not a day of vengeance4 ,but to those who will not accept this grace1 that terrible day of vengeance will surely come4 ,jesus was anointed1 and ,he was holy4 ,his anointed followers must also be holy4 ,they must seek and find the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and fire1 they must be sanctified wholly4 ,to be baptized1 and filled and anointed with the ,holy ,ghost is the privilege and duty of all ,god's children4 ,if we would belong to the royal priesthood1 we must be cleansed from the defilement of sin4 ,finally1 we will allude to the fire symbol4 ,gold is spoken of in ,scripture as tried in the fire4 ,so of silver4 ,he 7,christ7 shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver4 ,the precious metals will endure the fire1 but dross and tin1 as well as reprobate silver1 will and must be consumed4 ,the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire is a sin-consuming baptism4 ,fire is a great purifier4 ,it makes the substance which is subjected to it pure through and through1 and not like anything cleansed by water1 pure as to its surface only4 ,our ,god is a consuming fire4 ,oh1 beloved1 let us give up to the fire all that is for the fire4 ,let all depravity1 all inbred sin1 all tendency to depart from ,god and yield to ,satan1 be burned up in this fiery baptism4 ,may ,god put upon all ,his pardoned children not the blood-mark only1 but the fire-mark also4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,in ,,prophecy4 ,the ,major ,prophets are ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel and ,daniel4 ,the twelve prophetic books in the ,old ,testament following the book of ,daniel are called the ,minor ,prophets4 ,in the writings of both classes we find many allusions and predictions as to the entire sanctification of believers in the gospel dispensation and under the reign of ,messiah or ,christ4 ,the sixth chapter of ,isaiah is usually regarded as his call to the prophetic office4 ,whether this be so or not1 it records a very wonderful experience of that grand man1 and a remarkable type of the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost as described in the book of ,acts4 ,it is quite evident that ,isaiah was a converted man before he wrote his first chapter4 ,in that he laments the sins of the ,israelites and the ,jews1 all of them ,god's chosen people1 though now divided into the two kingdoms and these often at variance1 shows the utter futility of their own efforts to regain the favor of ,god1 by observances and sacrifices and ceremonies1 and then tells them how to be converted as plainly as any gospel minister in our own day would be able to do4 ,he shows them that the way of salvation is by repentance and faith1 and by trusting to the unmerited mercy of ,god4 ,hear him3 ,wash you1 make you clean2 put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes2 cease to do evil2 learn to do well2 seek judgment2 relieve the oppressed2 judge the fatherless2 plead for the widow4 ,come now1 and let us reason together1 saith the ,lord2 though your sins be as scarlet1 they shall be as white as snow2 though they be red like crimson1 they shall be as wool4 ,here are repentance and amendment of life and pardon1 the washing away of guilt and committed sins1 symbolical of the ,new ,testament washing of regeneration1 symbolical also of ,john's baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins4 ,but now in the sixth chapter1 and in the year that king ,uzziah died1 a wondrous vision of the pre-existent ,christ1 sitting upon a throne high and lifted up and the seraphim crying one to another ,holy1 holy1 holy is the ,lord of hosts1 was vouchsafed to the prophet4 ,and the first effect of the glorious things which he saw and heard was not to exalt him and minister to his pride1 but to fill him with despair at his own depravity4 ,he felt just as ,peter did at the first miraculous draught of fishes on the ,sea of ,galilee1 when he exclaimed ,depart from me for ,i am a sinful man1 ,o ,lord4 ,ah6 beloved1 it never fosters spiritual pride1 nor any other kind of pride to get a nearer and clearer view of ,christ than we ever had before4 ,quite the contrary4 ,such a vision turns us towards our inner selves1 and enables us to behold by contrast the darkness and sinfulness and pollution of our own souls1 and in such a view we shall find food for the deepest humiliation1 but nothing to nourish pride4 ,accordingly1 ,isaiah exclaimed in agony of soul ,woe is me6 for ,i am undone2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips2 for mine eyes have seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts4 ,if we may credit ,jewish tradition1 it was for the offence of saying that he had seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts1 that the prophet was afterwards sawn asunder4 ,but the record of the glorious vision is still preserved and will1 no doubt1 be blessed to millions of readers in the future1 as in the past1 and until the end of the age4 ,but the seraph was sent to touch the unclean lips of ,isaiah--unclean because of innate depravity1 and unclean notwithstanding he had probably been preaching repentance and amendment of life and forgiveness for two or three years before this wondrous experience--to touch them with holy fire4 ,and then he was assured not that his sins of commission and omission were forgiven--that had been done before--but that his iniquity was taken away1 and his 7inbred7 sin purged4 ,this was a second and a definite experience1 and strikingly emblematic of the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and fire under the gospel dispensation1 which is also accompanied by the purifying of the heart by faith1 or entire sanctification4 ,how wondrous are the prophecies of ,isaiah after this experience4 ,he seems to look down the centuries for seven hundred years and to see the glorious blessings of the gospel dispensation almost as clearly as if they were already present4 ,hear him in the thirty-fifth chapter3 ,and an highway shall be there and a way2 and it shall be called the way of holiness2 the unclean shall not pass over it2 but it shall be for those3 the wayfaring men1 though fools1 shall not err therein4 ,and in the fifty-first chapter3 ,awake1 awake6 ,put on thy strength1 ,o ,zion6 put on thy beautiful garments1 ,o ,jerusalem1 the holy city2 for henceforth1 there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean1 and in the sixtieth chapter3 ,thy sun shall no more go down1 neither shall thy moon withdraw itself2 for the ,lord shall be thine everlasting light1 and the days of thy mourning shall be ended4 ,to ,jeremiah the ,lord said1 ,i sanctified thee2 and ,i ordained thee a prophet unto the nations1 which must mean not only that he was set apart for the office of a prophet1 but also that he was cleansed from inbred sin1 as a necessary preparation for the office itself4 ,in the thirty-sixth chapter of ,ezekiel we have some striking passages on the theme before us4 ,these were1 no doubt1 addressed primarily to the outward ,israel1 but they may very justly be appropriated by the ,israel of ,god1 the ,church of ,christ1 since as ,augustine says1 ,the ,new ,testament lies hidden in the ,old1 and the ,old is revealed in the ,new4 ,in the twenty-fifth verse we have the promise of pardon or justification with cleansing from the pollution of their past sins3 ,then will ,i sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean1 from all your filthiness and from all your idols will ,i cleanse you4 ,committed sin implies both guilt and pollution4 ,and the pollution that is thus acquired by the practice of sinning is removed in regeneration4 ,thus the new convert is brought back again to the state of the little child4 ,except ye be converted1 said the blessed ,saviour1 and become as little children1 ye cannot enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,the little child has neither the guilt nor the pollution of committed sin2 whilst he does have within him the inherited or inbred sin of his nature4 ,now in the promise quoted above1 allusion is made to the clean water made from the ashes of a red heifer and sprinkled1 under the ,mosaic law1 upon those who had incurred ceremonial uncleanness4 ,the thing signified1 however1 is the precious blood of ,christ which cleanseth from all sin1 or possibly the cleansing operation of the ,holy ,spirit1 typified by water1 may here be meant4 ,at any rate the twenty-fifth verse points to nothing less than a full and free justification4 ,but the prophet continues3 ,a new heart also will ,i give you and a new spirit will ,i put within you2 and ,i will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and ,i will give you a heart of flesh4 ,here we have described certainly the experience of regeneration1 if indeed not the still fuller experience of entire sanctification4 ,but let us admit that it means only the new heart which is given to the penitent sinner at his new birth4 ,regeneration implies the impartation of a new life by the ,divine energy of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,and this new life is comparable to the heart of flesh1 not1 of course1 a carnal heart1 but a heart tender and teachable1 and impressible to heavenly influences1 such a heart as we always find in the new-born babe in ,christ4 ,but listen still further3 ,and ,i will put ,my ,spirit within you1 and cause you to walk in ,my statutes1 and ye shall keep ,my judgments and do them4 ,in this verse we have a pre-figuring of the ,holy ,ghost baptism1 by which the heart is cleansed from all sin and sanctified wholly1 and also of the subsequent walking in the ,spirit1 to which ,paul alludes in one of his epistles4 ,zacharias1 the father of ,john the ,baptist1 who was also seized with prophetic fire at the birth of his son1 exclaims1 ,that ,he would grant unto us that we1 being delivered out of the hand of our enemies1 might serve ,him without fear1 in holiness and righteousness before ,him1 all the days of our life4 ,surely the gospel of ,christ has something better for its recipients than a constant daily sinning and repenting1 which is too often the experience of ,christian people4 ,the twenty-seventh verse1 therefore1 signifies holiness of heart and life through the power of the indwelling ,spirit4 ,how blessed it is thus to be assured that what we cannot do by our own strength1 the ,holy ,spirit will cause us to do4 ,this doctrine of spiritual causation is indeed glorious4 ,like the mainspring of the watch which supplies the power within1 by which the hands are moved without1 and thus the fleeting minutes and hours are correctly measured1 so the ,holy ,spirit within supplies the energy by which the sanctified believer is enabled or caused to adorn the doctrine of ,christ1 his ,saviour1 in all things1 and to bring forth the fruit of the ,spirit in all righteousness and goodness and truth4 ,in the minor prophets1 we find numerous allusions to the subject of holiness1 though their language is often highly figurative4 ,in ,hosea #b3af1 after reproving ,israel for her unfaithfulness in the past1 the ,almighty1 through ,his prophet1 employs the following language1 viz3 ,and it shall be at that day1 saith the ,lord1 that thou shalt call ,me ,ishi1 and shalt call ,me no more ,baali1 and again in the nineteenth verse1 ,i will betroth thee unto ,me forever2 yea ,i will betroth thee in righteousness and in judgment and in loving kindness and in mercies2 ,i will even betroth thee unto ,me in faithfulness2 and thou shalt know the ,lord4 ,now the word ,ishi means my husband2 while the word ,baali means my ,lord1 and the language1 therefore1 points to an experience or a relation of marriage4 ,the bride is exalted immeasurably above the servant4 ,while the position of the servant points to a legal justification and a service for wages and reward1 that of the bride must signify entire sanctification1 and the closest possible union with the ,heavenly ,bridegroom4 ,again1 the word betrothed points legitimately to a marriage which is always justly expected to follow if both parties are faithful to the engagement4 ,beloved1 let us get so near to ,christ that we shall not address ,him as my ,lord1 in the spirit of a servant1 but as my husband1 in the spirit of a loving and faithful wife4 ,at your conversion1 you are1 as it were1 betrothed to ,him1 or in ordinary language engaged to ,him4 ,at your entire sanctification1 your engagement is consummated by the marriage union4 ,engagement must precede marriage1 it is true1 but1 as a rule1 engagements should not be long4 ,do not needlessly defer your nuptials1 but rather hasten to the embraces of ,everlasting ,love4 ,like ,rebecca1 appreciate your high and holy calling1 and like her say promptly and decidedly1 ,i will go4 ,in the book of ,joel we find the prophecy which ,peter quoted on the day of ,pentecost1 and assured the multitude of ,jews1 out of every nation under heaven1 that what they beheld on that day was the fulfillment of the same4 ,and it shall come to pass afterward1 that ,i will pour out ,my ,spirit upon all flesh2 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy1 your old men shall dream dreams1 your young men shall see visions4 ,and also upon the servants and upon the handmaidens in those days will ,i pour out ,my ,spirit4 ,now1 these words are clearly a foreshadowing of the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and fire1 designed for all of ,god's children without distinction of nation or sex1 and intended1 first1 to purify their hearts by faith 7see ,acts #ae3i7 and1 secondly1 to endue them with power for whatever line of service ,god may call them to4 ,and we may add that this text1 as well as many others1 shows that in these gospel days women as well as men may be1 as we find in the facts of our daily experience that they are both called and qualified for the work of the ministry1 as well as other labors in the vineyard of the ,lord4 ,but both men and women need the ,holy ,ghost baptism which consumes inbred sin1 as an indispensable qualification for the highest efficiency and most marked success in the work to which they may individually be called4 ,every ,christian may and should do something for the ,lord1 but none can do all for ,him which he makes it his privilege and his duty to do1 without the grace of entire sanctification and the fulness of the ,spirit4 ,in the prayer of ,habakkuk we have some sentences which point unmistakably to the experience of perfect trust in ,god and perfect love for ,him4 ,although the fig-tree shall not blossom1 neither shall fruit be in the vines2 the labor of the olive shall fail1 and the fields shall yield no meat2 the flock shall be cut off from the fold1 and there shall be no herd in the stalls2 yet ,i will rejoice in the ,lord1 ,i will joy in the ,god of my salvation4 ,compare this with ,john ,wesley's description of a holy man after ,paul4 ,one who is enabled to rejoice evermore1 to pray without ceasing1 and in everything to give thanks4 ,does not ,habakkuk answer beautifully to this description8 ,the prophecy of ,zechariah contains a number of visions1 which are1 no doubt1 full of instruction to those who have eyes to see4 ,we can only mention one or two of these4 ,in the third chapter1 verses one to seven1 we are introduced to ,joshua1 the high priest1 representing the ,jewish people1 and typifying ,christ ,jesus with ,his eternal and unchangeable priesthood after the order of ,melchizedek4 ,but the ,angel ,jehovah also represents ,jesus in ,his capacity of ,judge4 ,and ,satan1 the adversary1 is present as the accuser of the brethren1 resisting them in the person of their representative1 the high priest4 ,and surely it would seem1 at first1 as if there was ground for his accusations1 for ,joshua1 the high priest1 is clothed in filthy garments1 and these can signify nothing else than sins1 aye1 the sins of ,his people imputed to ,him as their representative and priest1 and not their actual sins only but their inbred sin also1 for1 ,the ,lord hath laid on ,him the iniquity of us all1 and ,he hath made ,him to be sin for us who knew no sin4 ,his visage was so marred more than any man1 and ,his form more than the sons of men4 ,he hath no form nor comeliness1 and when we shall see ,him1 there is no beauty that we should desire ,him4 ,many were astonished at thee1 says ,isaiah4 ,behold the man1 said ,pilate1 as he brought forth ,jesus scourged1 tortured1 bleeding1 but uncomplaining1 and the only answer was ,crucify ,him6 ,thus1 beloved1 was ,he clothed in very truth with the filthy garments not of ,his own vileness but of ours4 ,but ,joshua was a brand plucked from the burning1 and1 therefore1 in ,him all ,his people have found pardon4 ,and now comes the order ,take away the filthy garments from him1 and unto him he said1 ,behold1 ,i have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee1 and ,i will clothe thee with change of raiment4 ,surely1 beloved1 we here have nothing less than entire sanctification1 not in ourselves but in ,him1 and not only simply imputatively and representatively1 but actually and experimentally4 ,praise the ,lord4 ,the prophet ,malachi assures us that ,he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver2 and ,he shall purify the sons of ,levi 7that is1 the royal priesthood which constitutes the true church7 and purge them as gold and silver1 that they may offer unto the ,lord an offering in righteousness4 ,surely no one will deny that there is holiness in prophecy4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,gabriel said to ,mary in the annunciation1 ,therefore1 that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the ,son of ,god4 ,or in the ,revised ,version1 ,wherefore1 also1 that which is to be born shall be called holy1 the ,son of ,god4 ,the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews speaks of ,him as holy1 harmless1 undefiled1 separate from sinners1 and ,peter says that ,he did no sin1 neither was guile found in ,his mouth4 ,he is called ,thy holy child ,jesus4 ,jesus ,christ1 therefore1 was wholly free both from sin committed and sin indwelling4 ,he was absolutely holy in heart and holy in life1 holy in word and holy in act1 holy in ,his birth1 holy in ,his death1 holy in ,his resurrection1 holy in ,his ascension1 holy in ,his eternity4 ,glory be to ,his ,holy ,name4 ,and if the ,divine ,founder of the ,christian ,church was thus a holy man1 it would1 naturally1 be expected that ,he should desire to have a holy people2 and if ,he desire it1 that ,he should also make provision for it2 and if ,he both desire it and hath made provision for it1 that we should find allusions to it in ,his teachings4 ,in this1 we are not disappointed1 as we shall proceed to show4 ,the ,sermon on the ,mount contains an epitome of the public preaching of the ,lord ,jesus1 and every sentence is pregnant with meaning4 ,from beginning to end1 it inculcates holiness as the privilege and duty of believers4 ,many things are enjoined which would only be possible to those who are sanctified wholly1 such as1 ,bless them that curse you1 do good to them that hate you1 love your enemies1 resist not evil1 and many others4 ,the teachings of our ,lord are like the headings of chapters1 which are filled out and developed in the writings of the apostles4 ,this is remarkably true of the ,sermon on the ,mount1 which1 without going largely into details1 sets forth the principles which are to govern ,his kingdom on earth4 ,the application and interpretation of these principles1 ,he leaves to the inspired apostles and evangelists1 who continued to teach and preach after ,his departure1 and to the ,holy ,spirit who is promised to the believing church as its guide1 teacher and comforter until ,christ ,himself shall come again4 ,but besides many precepts and injunctions which imply holiness1 there are several1 also1 which expressly require it4 ,among the beatitudes at the beginning of the ,sermon1 we find this striking statement3 ,blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see ,god4 ,now1 heart purity cannot exist while there is any sin in the heart4 ,wherever there is sin in the heart1 whether actual or indwelling1 there is also defilement2 and purity and defilement are incompatible terms4 ,heart purity1 therefore1 is identical with entire sanctification1 and heart purity is not only a great energizer1 so that a man is powerful for good in proportion to the purity of his heart and life1 but it is also a great illuminator1 so that it enables its possessor to see ,god4 ,this1 of course1 does not imply an open or an outward vision1 but a spiritual apprehension of ,god1 whereby we are brought into fellowship and communion with ,him1 and in a spiritual sense1 we maybe truly regarded as seeing ,him who is forever invisible to outward sense4 ,this inward purity1 as distinguished from a blameless outward walk1 was by no means unknown to the ,old ,testament writers4 ,in the ,twenty-fourth ,psalm1 ,david asks the question ,who shall ascend into the hill of the ,lord8 or who shall stand in ,his holy place8 ,and ,he immediately answers it by saying1 ,he that hath clean hands and a pure heart4 ,the clean hands imply that his works are in accordance with ,god's law2 in other words1 that his outward life is free from condemnation4 ,but the pure heart means more than this1 and suggests what the same royal ,psalmist remarks again in the ,fifty-first ,psalm4 ,behold1 thou desirest truth in the inward parts1 in the hidden part1 ,thou shalt make me to know wisdom4 ,it is also noticeable in the ,twenty-fourth ,psalm1 as already quoted1 that the clean hands or justification comes before the pure heart or entire sanctification4 ,so accurate is the blessed spiritual logic of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,returning to the ,sermon on the ,mount1 we find at the end of ,matthew fifth the direct command1 ,be ye1 therefore1 perfect1 even as your ,father which is in heaven is perfect1 or if we take the ,revised ,version1 which is more accurate in translation1 the command becomes a positive assertion1 which is equally forcible4 ,ye1 therefore1 shall be perfect as your ,heavenly ,father is perfect4 ,but whether command or declaration1 it is at first sight simply astounding4 ,it is overwhelming4 ,so much so1 indeed1 that our poor human spirits shrink back in amazement1 and we are ready to say1 ,this is wholly impossible4 ,surely1 ,jesus cannot mean what ,he says4 ,or if ,he does1 then my case is hopeless4 ,but let us examine the words a little more carefully4 ,in the first place1 we are to notice that ,he does not say that we are to be equal in perfection to our ,father in ,heaven4 ,that would1 indeed1 be too absurd for the wildest fancy to conceive4 ,god is infinite in all ,his attributes and1 therefore1 infinite in perfection1 and this in all directions4 ,we are poor1 finite1 sinful human beings1 and can never even approach the boundless perfection of ,him who is wholly without limit1 either as to power1 space or duration1 or righteousness1 justice and holiness4 ,but the command is not1 ,be ye equal to your ,heavenly ,father in perfection1 but1 ,be ye perfect with the same kind of perfection which appertains to ,him4 ,it may be similar in kind whilst falling infinitely short of ,his perfection in degree4 ,now1 ,god is infinite and perfect in all ,his attributes1 but apart from ,his attributes is ,his essence4 ,and what is the perfection which is predicated of the essence of ,god8 ,or1 rather1 what is ,his essence itself8 ,it is love4 ,god is love1 says the apostle4 ,thy nature and ,thy name is love1 says the great hymnologist1 ,charles ,wesley4 ,the essential perfection of the ,godhead1 therefore1 is a perfection of love4 ,and we are assured by the beloved ,john that it is possible for us1 also1 to be made perfect in love1 and to possess the perfect love which casteth out fear4 ,hence1 if we are perfect in love we are perfect even as our ,father who is in heaven is perfect4 ,behold the blessed simplicity of the gospel4 ,the context of the command referred to proves the same thing4 ,jesus had just been telling ,his disciples that it is not sufficient for them to love their friends1 and do good to those that do good to them4 ,all these things and more are done even by worldly minded people and open sinners4 ,unsaved people love those who love them4 ,but ,jesus continues1 ,i say unto you1 love your enemies2 bless them that curse you2 do good to them that hate you1 and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you4 ,why8 ,that ye may be the children of your ,father who is in heaven1 for that is just the way ,he does4 ,he does not wait for a man to be ,his friend before ,he loves him and shows kindness to him4 ,he maketh ,his sun to rise on the evil and on the good1 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust4 ,and1 if we are to be the children of such a ,father1 we must adopt ,his sentiments and love in our measure as ,he loves4 ,his essence being love1 all ,his infinite activities are controlled and regulated and directed by love1 and when there is nothing contrary to love in our hearts1 so that all our finite activities are in like manner impelled and swayed and directed by love1 then we are perfect in love1 and perfect even as our ,heavenly ,father is perfect4 ,glory to ,his ,name4 ,i believe that if we search carefully and prayerfully we shall find the doctrine of entire sanctification in many of the parables of our ,saviour4 ,take1 for instance1 the parable of the sower4 ,here we are expressly told that the seed is the word of ,god1 and1 of course1 the sowers are all ministers and ,christian workers who are trying in any right way1 to diffuse a knowledge and acceptance of gospel truth4 ,they are devoting themselves to the salvation of human souls4 ,now1 mark the difference as to the ground upon which the good seed falls4 7#a7 ,the wayside hearers are not concerted at all4 7#b7 ,the stony ground hearers are converted but not established4 ,their shallowness is such as to prevent them from withstanding trial and temptation and hence they fall into backsliding4 7#c7 ,the thorny ground hearers are converted1 but inbred sin remains in their hearts in form of the love of riches1 whether these riches are possessed or only desired1 or too much care and cumber1 having so much regard to the secular as to neglect the spiritual1 or in the form of unsanctified desire1 the lusts of other things1 and so by sin that dwelleth in them the word is choked1 and though they may bring forth a little meagre fruit of inferior quality1 yet they bring no fruit to perfection4 ,they are justified but not sanctified wholly4 ,now1 our ,heavenly ,father desires not a little fruit but much fruit4 ,every branch that bringeth forth fruit1 he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit4 ,to purge is to purify or1 in a spiritual sense1 to sanctify1 and this is the condition of abundant fruitage4 ,when the thorns are removed the good seed will grow and flourish4 ,when inbred sin is taken out of the heart the ,christian believer will bring forth fruit to perfection1 even the perfection of love1 and this will be the much fruit whereby ,god is glorified4 ,on one occasion we are told that a lawyer asked ,jesus ,what shall ,i do to inherit eternal life8 and when asked in reply what were the words of the ,mosaic law he answered1 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind2 and thy neighbor as thyself4 ,jesus commended his answer and added ,this do and thou shalt live4 ,hence1 our ,saviour teaches that holiness consists of nothing more nor less nor else than perfect love to ,god and man4 ,what constitutes this love has been already explained4 ,martha was a good ,christian1 but she was careful and troubled about many things4 ,mary was a good ,christian and still earnestly seeking the one thing needful1 which is full salvation1 or holiness of heart and life4 ,even good ,christians may be cumbered about much serving1 and so miss this one thing needful4 ,we cannot doubt that both the sisters1 who vividly typify the two experiences1 obtained the blessing of holiness when the pentecostal baptism was poured out upon the church of the hundred and twenty1 if not before4 ,in the marvelous intercessory prayer of the ,lord ,jesus1 given in the seventeenth of ,john1 we find these expressions1 ,sanctify them through ,thy truth4 ,thy word is truth4 ,and again1 ,for their sakes ,i sanctify ,myself that they also may be sanctified through the truth4 ,here we discover the two senses of the word sanctify4 ,jesus sets ,himself apart or consecrates ,himself to the work of human redemption in order that ,his followers1 in all ages1 may be not only set apart or consecrated1 but also sanctified wholly1 or made holy in heart and life4 ,he gave ,himself for the world of sinners lost1 that they might be forgiven and saved4 ,he gave ,himself for the church1 on the other hand1 that ,he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word1 that ,he might present it to ,himself a glorious church1 not having spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing1 but that it should be holy and without blemish4 ,thus1 the atoning sacrifice of ,christ procured pardon and acceptance for the penitent sinner4 ,it procured not less1 certainly1 entire sanctification for the consecrated believer4 ,and it is only by accepting ,him as a perfect ,saviour that ,he is made of ,god unto us1 wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption4 ,for the blessed ,saviour does not leave us in doubt as to the method of obtaining this great blessing of holiness1 nor as to the price1 which must be paid for it4 ,entire sanctification is one pearl of great price1 and he who would possess it must go and sell all that he has4 ,the rich young ruler had a first-class record as to morality and the outward observance of the law of ,god1 yet ,jesus said to him1 ,one thing thou lackest1 and that one thing was perfect love1 for ,he added1 ,if thou wilt be perfect1 go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor1 and then interjecting a promise1 ,thou shalt have treasure in heaven1 and come take up the cross and follow ,me4 ,the price was too great1 and the young man went away sorrowful4 ,alas6 ,myriads of souls since have found the price too great1 and by refusing to pay it1 have deprived themselves of unspeakable blessing4 ,christ would not have us become ,his followers without counting the cost1 and the cost is all that we have and all that we are4 ,whosoever forsaketh not all that he hath1 he cannot be ,my disciple4 ,first1 we are to forsake1 with full purpose of heart1 all known sin4 ,it may be the sin which easily besets1 our own bosom sin1 near as a right eye or a right hand1 but if it causes us to stumble1 it must be relentlessly sacrificed4 ,and even if the sacrifice seems like crippling and maiming us1 yet ,jesus assures us that it is better to enter into eternal life with one eye or one hand1 than to be consigned to everlasting death with two eyes or two hands4 ,in the first place1 therefore1 we are to reckon ourselves dead1 indeed1 unto sin1 but alive unto ,god through ,jesus ,christ1 our ,lord4 ,but we are to become dead1 indeed1 not only to all sin1 but we must be dead1 also1 even to lawful things1 except as ,god in ,his mercy may grant them to us1 to have and enjoy in moderation and to ,his glory4 ,jesus teaches us that our highest affection1 our deepest love must be fastened upon ,him alone1 and that if any individual love1 father or mother1 son or daughter1 wife or husband more than ,him1 such a one is not worthy of ,him4 ,we are to love ,his gifts and thank ,him for them1 but still more are we to love the ,giver ,himself4 ,and when we love ,him supremely1 we shall learn to be satisfied with ,himself1 and what ,he in ,his love and mercy chooses to give us4 ,if ,he permits us to have an abundance of earthly goods1 we shall thank ,him and use them as stewards of ,his for ,his glory4 ,if ,he allows our family circle to be invaded by death1 and one dear one after another is carried away to the tomb1 or if ,he permits our wealth to be taken from us and consign us to poverty and desolation1 if ,his gifts one by one or altogether are withdrawn from us1 why1 praise the ,lord1 we still have the ,giver1 and can still say with ,job ,the ,lord gave and the ,lord hath taken away4 ,blessed be the name of the ,lord4 ,it thus appears that the teachings of our ,lord require us to be dead to sin1 and dead to self1 yea1 even to lawful self1 in order that we may possess this inestimable blessing of entire sanctification4 ,let us not hesitate1 then1 beloved1 to lay down our lives4 ,whosoever will save his life shall lose it1 but whosoever will lose his life for ,my sake1 the same shall save it4 ,except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die1 it abideth alone2 but if it die1 it bringeth forth much fruit4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,paul4 ,the apostleship of the ,gentiles was committed specially to ,paul4 ,and as the ,gospel of ,christ is intended for the salvation not of the ,jews only1 but of all mankind who are willing to accept the conditions1 we find in the writings of this apostle1 perhaps1 a more complete exposition and expansion of the teachings of the ,lord ,jesus than in any other inspired author4 ,jesus gave the concise germinal principles of all gospel truth2 and ,paul deduces from these principles their logical consequences and develops them1 under the inspiration of the ,holy ,spirit1 into those wonderful epistles to the churches1 which1 though as ,peter well observes containing some things hard to be understood1 are no doubt destined1 nevertheless1 in the future as in the past1 to form a large part both of the foundation and framework of every system of theological doctrine4 ,how wondrous1 for instance1 is the scheme of redemption as unfolded to us in the ,epistle to the ,romans6 ,how profound and how exalted is the spirituality of the ,ephesians and ,colossians6 ,how pure and how practical are the directions to the ,corinthians6 ,what a counter-blast to all legality in the church do we have in ,galatians6 ,what a marvelous unfolding of ,old ,testament typology in the ,hebrews6 ,what a guidebook of unequalled excellency for ministers of all times in the pastoral epistles6 ,in the ,epistle to the ,romans1 ,paul regards mankind under the two divisions of the ,gentile and the ,jew1 and proceeds to show that both classes alike had failed in their efforts to attain to righteousness and salvation4 ,the ,gentile1 it is true1 had not been favored with an outward revelation1 but he had been permitted to behold the outward universe1 and to know that it had a ,creator of eternal power and divinity4 ,he had also had a conscience within him1 and so much light as rendered him an accountable being1 with a sense of obligation to a supreme power1 and furnishing another proof of the existence of a personal ,god4 ,but the ,apostle tells us that they1 the ,gentiles1 did not like to retain ,god in their knowledge4 ,they wickedly extinguished the light which ,he had given them1 because they were not willing to give up their immoralities4 ,and as their hearts became more corrupt1 their intellects also were darkened1 and in their senselessness they changed the glory of the incorruptible ,god into the baser image of birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things4 ,they sank into the grossest idolatry and licentiousness and all wickedness4 ,this picture drawn in colors which shock our sensibilities1 in the first chapter of ,romans1 is confirmed by the authentic writings of heathen historians1 and this in all particulars1 ,paul says1 ,they are without excuse1 because they did not live up to the light which they had received1 obscure and imperfect as it was4 ,and how was it with the ,jews8 ,the advantage was1 indeed1 to them much every way1 but chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of ,god4 ,they had an outward revelation1 and with it a knowledge of that law of ,god1 which is holy and just and good4 ,but they had failed1 if possible1 more grievously than the ,gentiles themselves4 ,they had received the law by the disposition of angels1 as ,stephen told them and had not kept it4 ,they had had far more light than the ,gentiles1 but they had fallen into the same sins as they4 ,they prided themselves on the law1 and looked with contempt upon the ,gentiles1 and condemned them for their immoralities1 and yet were guilty of similar immoralities themselves4 ,they talked loudly about the words of the law4 ,do not steal4 ,do not commit adultery1 and yet violated these very commands themselves4 ,jesus in ,his scathing denunciation of the ,scribes and ,pharisees1 compared them to whited sepulchres1 looking well outwardly1 but within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness3 and ,he warned ,his disciples to beware of the leaven of the ,pharisees1 which is hypocrisy1 and the leaven of the ,sadduces1 which is infidelity1 and the leaven of the ,herodians1 which is worldly mindedness4 ,the cause of failure was the same1 both with ,jew and ,gentile4 ,it was something that had occurred long before the division into ,jew and ,gentile had an existence4 ,it had occurred1 in short1 when man fell4 ,from fallen parents our entire race had inherited a fallen nature1 that is to say1 a natural proclivity towards sin4 ,there is a disposition in all mankind to yield to temptation1 some in one direction1 some in another1 and thus to say yes to ,satan1 while they also say no to ,god4 ,this bias towards evil is sometimes called depravity or original sin4 ,it is called by ,paul ,our old man1 the flesh1 the carnal mind1 the body of sin1 and sin that dwelleth in me4 ,a good and convenient name for it is inbred sin4 ,it is sin in the heart as distinguished from sin in the act4 ,it is the inward cause of which our outward sins are the effects4 ,it is the evil root of which our outward sins are the bitter fruits4 ,now1 it was the inbred sin in the hearts of the ,gentiles which caused them to quench the light of the knowledge of ,god1 which they must have had for1 at least1 a generation or two after ,noah came out of the ark1 and which made them blind to the light even of natural religion1 notwithstanding before their eyes the heavens were declaring the glory of ,god and the firmament was showing ,his handiwork1 day unto day was uttering speech1 and night unto night was showing knowledge4 ,they forsook the knowledge of ,god1 and ,he left them to their own reprobate minds1 the result being that they sank into the grossest idolatry and the most beastly sensuality4 ,the ,jew had the unspeakable advantage of an outward revelation4 ,he received through ,moses the law of ,god1 which showed him what ,god desired him to be and do1 and what he ought to be and do1 but which conferred upon him no power for being or doing what it required4 ,it is like a looking-glass placed before a child to show him that his face is soiled1 but having no power to cleanse that face4 ,it was like a plumb-line applied to a leaning wall1 which shows how far it deviates from the perpendicular1 but which has no power to make it upright4 ,nay1 it even comes to pass that in consequence of inbred sin1 the law multiplies offences4 ,it causes sin to abound4 ,we find even in most children a disposition that impels them to do and to have just what they are told they must not do and have4 ,that is to say1 when the law comes in1 inbred sin rises in rebellion against it4 ,the workings of the sin that dwelleth in us is most vividly described by ,paul in the seventh chapter of ,romans4 ,over the real meaning of this chapter1 there has been much discussion and wide differences of opinion4 ,some writers think that this is the best experience of the great apostle of the ,gentiles1 and they draw consolation from this fact1 as well as argument1 in favor of continuing to sin in thought and word and deed as long as they live4 ,others think that the apostle is not here describing a ,christian experience at all1 but the struggles of a ,jew who is seeking the favor of ,god by keeping ,his law1 but finds his attempts to keep it all in vain1 the hindrance being inbred sin4 ,i freely admit that it is not what even a justified experience ought to be1 for ,god has assured us through ,his apostle1 ,john1 that ,he that is born of ,god doth not commit sin1 and1 therefore1 notwithstanding the presence of inbred sin in the heart of the justified and regenerated believer1 yet such a one1 by watchfulness and prayer1 may be kept from acts of sin and from becoming a backslider4 ,but in point of fact1 the seventh of ,romans does describe what1 in many cases1 is the experience of the converted ,christian4 ,for there are many who even after a clear conversion and a joyful sense of ,god's favor1 with the witness of the ,spirit to their adoption1 yet do yield to temptation under the pressure of inbred sin1 and so pass weeks1 or months or weary years in what is called an up-and-down experience1 not becoming confirmed backsliders1 but sinning and repenting1 delighting in the law of ,god after the inward man1 but often yielding to the demands of the law of sin1 which is in their members1 not losing their sonship1 but losing their communion and their joy1 often like ,peter weeping bitterly over their transgressions1 but finding that while the spirit is willing1 the flesh is weak4 ,i said that such a process1 unsatisfactory as it is1 might go on for years4 ,it ends either in complete religious declension amounting1 sometimes1 to apostacy on the one hand1 or infinitely better1 in the entire sanctification of the heart and complete deliverance from inbred sin4 ,and in these days of enlightenment1 when the doctrine and experience of holiness are so plainly taught1 and so generally diffused among the children of ,god1 it is1 at least1 doubtful whether a soul can continue long in a state of justification1 which means that it will either go forward to the experience of entire sanctification1 or else it will fall into back-sliding as did some of the ,corinthians1 or into legality as did the ,galatians4 ,now1 legality is nothing more nor less than ,judaism4 ,it is seeking salvation after the pattern of the ,old ,testament1 and not after that of the ,new4 ,it is a matter of works1 and not a matter of faith4 ,it inquires ,what good thing shall ,i do that ,i may inherit eternal life8 ,it is the child of the bondwoman and not that of the free4 ,it is ,ishmael and not ,isaac4 ,it is ,sinai and not ,calvary4 ,and so it happens that many ,christians are simply good ,jews4 ,they may even possess circumcised hearts1 and may yet serve the ,lord in the spirit of bondage1 as did good ,jews of old4 ,they fail to realize that they have been called unto liberty1 which liberty does not1 by any means1 signify license2 it does not signify the liberty of making our own choices1 but the liberty of accepting gladly and submissively ,god's choices2 it does not mean the liberty of doing either right or wrong as we may prefer1 but the liberty of always preferring to do right and never wrong1 and so to spend our years on earth1 doing right in all directions1 and doing wrong in none4 ,this1 beloved1 is the glorious liberty of the children of ,god4 ,after the birth of ,ishmael1 we may well suppose that ,hagar's chief employment in ,abraham's house was to look after the said ,ishmael1 to care for him and to restrain him4 ,mark1 it was never her business to care for or to restrain ,isaac4 ,he was the child of promise1 the child of faith1 the son of the lawful wife and the free woman1 and when ,ishmael's persecuting spirit broke forth at the weaning of ,isaac1 then the command was ,cast out the bond woman and her son4 ,both must go together or stay together4 ,ah6 beloved1 when inbred sin is cast out1 there is no more need of the law either to restrain or constrain4 ,perfect love casts out fear2 it also casts out sin1 and becomes the motive power of the whole spiritual man4 ,the love of ,christ constraineth us4 ,so ,paul shows us that both ,gentiles and ,jews had failed to attain unto the law of righteousness1 because of inbred sin1 which caused the former to put out the light which they had1 and the latter to fall short of keeping the law1 which was their only hope of salvation1 but which was never intended by its ,divine ,author to save men1 but to show them how utterly incapable they were of saving themselves4 ,but ,paul does not leave them there4 ,after putting both classes of the human family into the same position of failure and condemnation1 and declaring that there is no difference1 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of ,god1 he adds1 ,being justified fully by ,his grace1 through the redemption that is in ,christ ,jesus4 ,when man's helplessness and inability have been sufficiently demonstrated1 then ,god comes to his rescue4 ,for ,god hath concluded them all in unbelief1 that ,he might have mercy upon all4 ,thus in the ,epistle to the ,romans1 the apostle teaches the great doctrine of justification by faith and the consequent peace of reconciliation1 the peace with ,god through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,but he goes farther than justification1 and shows us that sanctification1 also1 is by faith and not by works4 ,he will not be satisfied with anything less than the death of our old man1 and the death of inbred sin is precisely the experience of entire sanctification4 ,knowing this that our old man is crucified with him1 that the body of sin might be destroyed1 that1 henceforth1 we should not serve him4 ,but we are wholly unable to destroy or do away with the body of sin by any resolution or will-power or effort of our own4 ,sin will not go dead at our bidding1 nor can we become dead to sin by wishing or striving to be so4 ,again1 we are brought face to face with our helplessness1 but the apostle solves the problem for us by directing us to resort to the process of reckoning4 ,likewise reckon ye1 also1 yourselves to be dead1 indeed1 unto sin1 but alive unto ,god1 through ,jesus ,christ1 our ,lord4 ,ah6 now1 our help is laid upon one that is mighty4 ,the things that are impossible with men are possible with ,god4 ,what we reckon1 with the sublime reckoning of faith1 ,christ can make real and true4 ,we have only1 therefore1 to reckon ourselves to be dead1 indeed1 unto sin1 and leave to ,him to make the reckoning good4 ,but we must not fail to reckon ourselves alive as well as dead4 ,and to be alive to ,god means1 in this connection1 to be responsive to every intimation of ,his will1 to love ,him perfectly1 to be1 to do and to suffer joyfully all that ,he may determine concerning us1 in short1 to be sanctified wholly4 ,oh1 beloved1 what a blessed reckoning is the reckoning of faith6 ,how vastly does it transcend all the reckonings of logic or mathematics4 ,for1 by it1 we experience a continual deadness to sin1 and a continual holiness of heart and life4 ,for it must be clearly understood that ,paul is not asking us to fancy1 or imagine1 or hypothecate4 ,he is not telling us that if we believe a thing to be true1 the believing will make it true4 ,he is not persuading us to reckon without factors and with no result4 ,the factors in his direction are ,god's promises and commands1 alike in the ,old ,testament and in the ,new1 urging ,his people to be holy1 and promising to make them so1 and our acceptance of the provision ,he has made for our cleansing1 by faith1 and then by the reckoning alluded to1 the result is secured4 ,in foggy or cloudy weather1 mariners at sea are often compelled to resort to what they term dead-reckoning4 ,sometimes for days together1 the sun is hidden by clouds1 and no observation can be taken with the usual instruments for determining latitude and longitude4 ,then the captain ascertains by the compass what direction he is pursuing1 and by the log1 the rate at which the ship is sailing1 and thus by marking out his daily advance on a chart1 he is enabled1 with astonishing accuracy1 to determine when and at what point he will sight the shore toward which the voyage is directed4 ,what he reckons becomes real1 when he tells the passengers1 ,within five minutes1 we ought to see the ,irish coast1 followed within the specified time by the cry from the lookout1 ,land1 ho6 ,to the ,christian believer1 the ,bible is both compass and log and chart4 ,sometimes1 he enjoys the witness of the ,spirit clear as the sunshine1 assuring him that he is going in the right direction1 and informing him as to his whereabouts in ,christian experience1 but when not thus favored1 he can still move on by faith1 he still has his compass and his chart1 and he can still employ the dead-reckoning1 and go forward with a holy trust that in due time he shall land in the heavenly port4 ,praise the ,lord4 ,to comment in detail upon all that the great apostle of the ,gentiles has written in reference to entire sanctification would require a volume instead of a single chapter4 ,i must1 therefore1 content myself with a few selections1 and leave the reader to pursue the subject for himself in the inexhaustible mine of the ,pauline ,epistles4 ,in ,romans #f3ac1 we have the best description of consecration that is to be found anywhere4 ,neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin2 but yield yourselves unto ,god1 as those that are alive from the dead1 and your members as instruments of righteousness unto ,god4 ,and1 again1 in the #aith verse1 ,for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity1 unto iniquity2 even so1 now1 yield your members servants to righteousness1 unto holiness4 ,here1 the apostle clearly teaches us that consecration is not the same thing as entire sanctification4 ,the one is an act proceeding from man to ,god1 the other is an act proceeding from ,god to man4 ,it is man who consecrates2 it is ,god who sanctifies4 ,perfect consecration is an entire surrender of a personal human being to a personal ,god4 ,the term members may well be understood to include all bodily organs and powers1 all mental faculties and sensibilities1 and all appurtenances1 such as time1 money1 influence1 culture1 health1 and1 in short1 the whole personal1 individual man1 with all his belongings4 ,the surrender must be complete1 absolute1 unreserved and forever4 ,body1 soul1 spirit1 time1 talents1 possessions1 all that we have and all that we are must be ,his1 wholly ,his1 and ,his to all eternity4 ,such a consecration cannot be made by any one who is not already a ,christian believer4 ,paul informs us1 explicitly1 that he is not calling upon sinners dead in trespasses and sins1 to consecrate themselves1 but upon converted persons1 those who are alive from the dead4 ,how thankful we ought to be that he has settled that point forever4 ,sinners may repent1 but only ,christians can consecrate4 ,whatever surrender the sinner may and must make in order to be saved1 the believer must make a broader1 deeper1 fuller1 more complete surrender of a different character and for a different purpose4 ,in repentance1 the sinner gives himself away as a dead sacrifice1 and his purpose is to receive pardon and life4 ,in consecration1 the ,christian yields to ,god his living and regenerated faculties and powers1 and his purpose is that he may be sanctified wholly1 filled with the ,spirit1 and used to the utmost extent of his capacity for the glory of ,god4 ,consecration does not mean the giving up of our sins1 or vices1 or depraved appetites1 or forbidden indulgences4 ,we cannot consecrate our alcohol1 or our tobacco1 or our opium1 or our card-playing1 or dancing1 or theater-going to ,god4 ,he wants none of these things4 ,all actual and known sins must be abandoned at conversion4 ,our consecration is for a deeper work1 that is to say1 for the removal of inbred sin1 which1 after all1 is not accomplished by our consecration1 though that is an essential preliminary1 but by the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and fire4 ,the essence of consecration is in the sentence1 ,yield yourselves unto ,god4 ,when you yield yourselves1 you yield everything else4 ,all the details are included in the one surrender of yourself4 ,changing the emphasis1 we may read again1 ,yield yourselves unto ,god4 ,consecration is not to ,god's service1 not to ,his work1 not to a life of obedience and sacrifice1 not to the church1 not to the ,christian ,endeavor1 not to the missionary cause1 nor even to the cause of ,god2 it is to ,god ,himself4 ,yield yourselves unto ,god4 ,your work1 your service1 your obedience1 your sacrifice1 your right place and your allotted duty will all follow in good time4 ,consecration is the willingness1 and the resolution and the purpose to be1 to do1 and to suffer all ,god's will4 ,its essence1 already given in the words of ,paul1 is given also in the words of the ,saviour4 ,not ,my will but ,thine be1 done1 which is beautifully versified by ,frances ,ridley ,havergal1 in the couplet1 ,take my will and make it thine1 ,it shall be no longer mine4 ,consecration being a definite transaction1 and made once for all1 does not need to be repeated unless we have failed to keep it4 ,to consecrate over and over again is like a husband and wife marrying over and over again4 ,we are consecrated just as we are married4 ,the vow is upon us1 and in the force of that vow1 we walk all our days4 ,all we have to do is to remember day by day that we are wholly the ,lord's1 and see to it that nothing is taken from the altar4 ,those who have kept their consecration complete should testify to its maintenance upon all suitable occasions1 and never deny it by word1 deed or silence4 ,many years ago1 ,i saw a form of consecration in an ,english periodical1 which is here given very slightly modified1 and which has been adopted by many4 ,let all my readers unite with the author in entering into this personal yielding to ,god4 ,i am willing ,to receive what ,thou givest1 ,to lack what ,thou withholdest1 ,to relinquish what ,thou takest1 ,to suffer what ,thou inflictest1 ,to be what ,thou requirest1 ,to do what ,thou commandest4 ,amen4 ,in this connection1 we may add that when the consecration is complete1 it becomes1 comparatively1 an easy matter to believe4 ,entire sanctification like justification1 and1 indeed1 all other gospel blessings and experiences1 is to be received by faith4 ,but so long as the surrender to ,god is not complete1 faith refuses to act4 ,when all obstructions are removed by an act of heartfelt and sincere consecration1 then it becomes as natural and as easy to believe as it is to breathe1 after everything that hinders breathing is removed from the air passages4 ,we hear much complaint among ,christians of a want of faith4 ,if they only had more faith1 they imagine that all would be well4 ,when the disciples of old asked ,jesus to increase their faith1 ,he told them1 in effect1 to use what they had4 ,if it were only a mustard-seed faith1 ,he assured them that it would remove mountains4 ,and we may justly conclude that the difficulty with most seekers after entire sanctification is not in a want of faith so much as in an incomplete surrender4 ,the carnal mind dies very hard4 ,it attaches itself to one worldly thing or another1 and refuses to be sundered from what it loves1 and while this is the case1 the individual cannot believe that ,god gives him the unspeakable blessing of heart purity4 ,but when all the preliminaries have been attended to1 and there is nothing else needed but to trust in ,jesus1 then faith can appropriate ,his promises1 and in so doing realize their fulfillment4 ,another class of seekers is very much concerned about the witness of the ,spirit to assure them that the blessing has been received4 ,probably in these cases the very point that has not yet been consecrated to ,god is the feeling1 or the witness1 which they so much desire4 ,it often happens1 says ,dr4 ,g4 ,d4 ,watson1 that a patient1 who has been cured of some contagious disease1 has to have a certificate on leaving the hospital4 ,in such a case the certificate does not cure him1 but certifies that he is cured4 ,how absurd for a patient just entering the hospital to clamor for his health certificate before receiving the doctor and taking the remedies4 ,in like manner1 it is useless for a seeking soul to be clamoring for the witness and waiting for the feeling before receiving ,jesus and fully trusting ,him for the cure4 ,we are not to trust in the experience1 but the ,saviour who imparts the experience4 ,let us now return to ,paul4 ,in his first epistle to the ,corinthians1 second and third chapters1 he tells us of three classes of persons3 the natural man1 the spiritual man1 and the babe in ,christ4 ,the natural man1 he tells us1 receiveth not the things of the ,spirit of ,god2 they are foolishness unto him2 neither can he know them1 because they are spiritually discerned4 ,such is a description of the unregenerate wherever and whenever they are found4 ,their standard of judgment is not that of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,they are blind to the truth of ,god and deaf to the story of salvation4 ,being without spiritual life they are1 of course1 without spiritual judgment4 ,and yet1 just such persons are in all our churches1 and the number is by no means small4 ,and often it strangely happens that these are the very individuals who are noticeably forward in expressing their opinions on the right way of managing a church4 ,fine and costly edifices1 artistic music1 entertainments and theatricals1 eloquent preaching or lecturing1 something to be proud of and to draw the crowd--these are the things which in their view make the church of their choice a success2 but as for the conversion of sinners1 as for the spread of the gospel at home and abroad1 as for the sanctifying of believers1 as for the things of the ,spirit of ,god1 they are foolishness unto them4 ,what they need is a deep and pungent conviction1 a true repentance1 a living faith and a sound conversion4 ,may ,god hasten it in ,his time4 ,he that is spiritual1 says our apostle1 judgeth or discerneth all things1 yet he himself is judged or discerned of no man4 ,the spiritual man is the man who has been baptized with the ,spirit and filled with the ,spirit1 and in whom the ,spirit abides as an ever-present ,guide1 ,comforter and ,friend4 ,in short1 he is the man who is wholly sanctified and saved to the uttermost4 ,i should not1 of course1 affirm that such a one is always remarkable for depth or soundness of judgment1 for1 as his religion is in his heart rather than in his head1 the heart may be perfect while the head may be weak4 ,and yet holiness1 or rather the ,holy ,spirit dwelling in the heart1 does have a wonderfully illuminating influence upon the understanding4 ,and the spiritual man1 however many things he may be ignorant of1 does understand the condition of the natural man1 because he has been there1 while he is not understood by the natural man because the latter has not been where he is4 ,and the same is true of the relation of the spiritual man to the carnal ,christian or babe in ,christ4 ,he1 also1 is understood by one who has the ,spirit1 while he is himself incapable of judging or discerning the position of the latter4 ,paul assures the ,corinthians that they are yet carnal1 and still he asserts that they are babes in ,christ4 ,such persons1 and their name is legion in all denominations of ,christians1 are not wholly natural1 neither are they wholly spiritual4 ,they are babes in ,christ1 and1 therefore1 they may thank ,god that they are in ,christ4 ,they are converted1 they are believers1 they are disciples1 they are justified2 but they are not wholly sanctified1 and not wholly delivered from the carnal mind4 ,their state is a mixed one1 partly spiritual1 partly carnal4 ,oh1 let such as these make an immediate and complete and irrevocable consecration to ,god1 and let them ask for the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and receive ,him by faith in ,his sanctifying and empowering offices1 that so they may become1 not partly1 but wholly spiritual4 ,oh1 that spiritual men and women may increase and abound in all our churches4 ,amen4 ,in #b ,corinthians1 #g3a1 the apostle of the ,gentiles bases the experience of entire sanctification on the glorious promises of ,god4 ,having1 therefore1 these promises1 dearly beloved1 let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit1 perfecting holiness in the fear of ,god4 ,to cleanse ourselves is shown by the ,greek tense to be an act done definitely and once for all4 ,it means1 therefore1 to put ourselves under the conditions of cleansing by a definite act of consecration to ,god4 ,it means to place ourselves in co-operation with the ,holy ,spirit1 who is distinctively the ,sanctifier and ,cleanser4 ,it means1 also1 that we are to seek and find the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire1 in order that our hearts may be purified by faith1 and then to continually avoid all sources of temptation and all incentives to evil1 so far as we may2 and continuously realize and experience the holiness which ,christ has instantaneously wrought in our souls through ,his ,holy ,spirit4 ,filthiness of the flesh signifies undue indulgence of sensual appetites1 as in gluttony1 drunkenness and licentiousness1 which was probably very prevalent at ,corinth4 ,filthiness of the spirit is illustrated by idolatry and pride1 nor must we forget that the spirit is often polluted also through pampering the body4 ,paul's wonderful prayer in ,ephesians #c3ad-ba1 has been so admirably treated of by ,dr4 ,daniel ,steele1 that ,i shall content myself with referring the reader to his book on ,love ,enthroned1 page #abc1 and pass on4 ,a single remark1 however1 may properly be made4 ,that prayer1 undoubtedly1 embodies all that we mean by entire sanctification and the filling of the ,spirit and more4 ,in #a ,thess4 #e3bc1 we have another prayer of the great apostle in which entire sanctification is expressly petitioned for4 ,and the very ,god of peace sanctify you wholly3 and ,i pray ,god your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,faithful is he that calleth you1 who also will do it4 ,the very form of the expression in the first clause indicates that it is possible to be sanctified wholly and possible to be sanctified partially4 ,all ,christians are cleansed from the pollution of sins committed1 that is to say1 from the pollution they have acquired by actually sinning4 ,and thus the ,corinthians are addressed by ,paul as sanctified1 although1 manifestly1 many of them were not holy in heart and life4 ,on the other hand1 the apostle prays that the ,thessalonians may be sanctified wholly1 although as a church they were already in a healthy and prosperous condition1 the only exception being a few members who were too neglectful of their outward business and too much disposed to be busy-bodies4 ,so we may conclude1 without hesitation1 that all ,christians are partially sanctified1 while many good ,christians are not wholly sanctified4 ,but provision was made in the gospel for the entire sanctification of all believers1 otherwise ,paul would not have prayed for it4 ,and not only for their entire sanctification as a definite1 instantaneous act of ,god1 as shown by the ,greek tense1 but1 also1 for their continual preservation in blamelessness1 though not in faultlessness1 until the coming of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,and lest they should stagger through unbelief he adds1 ,faithful is ,he that calleth you4 ,you are not to do it4 ,he will do it for ,he is able4 ,and this experience extends to the whole man1 the spirit which takes hold of and communes with ,god1 the soul with its emotions1 affections1 desires and volitions2 the body with its appetites and its powers all made holy and preserved holy4 ,glory6 ,one more citation only and ,i will leave the reader to his own researches in the rich storehouse of the ,pauline writings4 ,taking it for granted that ,paul is the author of the ,hebrews1 let us read chapter #g3be of that profound epistle4 ,wherefore1 he is able1 also1 to save them to the uttermost that come unto ,god by ,him1 seeing ,he ever liveth to make intercession for them4 ,to the uttermost refers1 undoubtedly1 not only to time but to quantity4 ,it means entirely1 perfectly1 altogether1 through and through4 ,and if he is able he is also willing4 ,oh1 that all my readers1 with the writer1 may praise ,god now and evermore for salvation from the uttermost to the uttermost4 ,amen4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,peter4 ,in the first place1 ,peter sanctioned all the writings of his beloved brother1 ,paul1 and this probably at a period when ,paul was either dead or separated from his ministerial work by imprisonment4 ,there is a tradition that both the apostles were put to death on the same day at ,rome1 the one by crucifixion1 choosing himself to have his head downward because unworthy to die just like his ,master--the other by beheading1 because he was a ,roman citizen1 which was deemed1 at ,rome1 too honorable a position to be subjected to the ignominious death of the cross4 ,even if this should be true1 yet ,peter's second epistle1 in which he endorses ,paul's teachings1 and gives to his writings the same authority as to the rest of the ,bible1 seems to have been written but a short time previous to his own martyrdom4 ,the mature judgment of ,peter1 therefore1 was that ,paul was an inspired writer of ,scripture1 and that what he had given to the churches through his epistles1 and left as a permanent legacy for the church universal1 is to be received as gospel truth4 ,and this will apply to his copious and frequent allusions to entire sanctification1 as well as to the various other subjects treated of by his inspired pen4 ,on the subject of holiness1 therefore1 ,peter and ,paul are as one2 and we need not be surprised that in the very first sentence of his first epistle1 he addresses the ,christians of the ,jewish dispersion in ,asia ,minor--though by no means excluding the ,gentile converts--as elect according to the fore-knowledge 7not predestination7 of ,god the ,father through sanctification of the ,spirit1 which must include entire as well as partial sanctification1 unto 7not unconditional happiness or misery17 but unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of ,jesus ,christ4 ,thus1 in one grand outburst of salutation from his glowing heart1 he associates sanctification of the ,spirit1 the blood of sprinkling1 and the obedience of faith4 ,neither ,peter nor ,paul stops in the midst of his earnest appeals to men's hearts1 in order to give a lecture on ,systematic ,theology1 but both scatter seed-thoughts all over their inspired pages1 which are abundant in fruitage to the candid and reflecting mind4 ,and right here we remark that ,paul to the ,thessalonians employs the same expression1 sanctification of the spirit1 in connection with belief of the truth1 and thus putting the apostle of the circumcision by the side of the apostle of the uncircumcision we have sanctification by the blood of ,jesus1 sanctification by faith1 sanctification by the ,holy ,ghost1 and even in a subordinate sense1 sanctification by obedience1 and all this without the slightest inconsistency or contradiction4 ,and as ,peter starts out by calling ,god's people to holiness1 he continues by reminding them that their hope is to be fixed upon an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away1 reserved in heaven for you4 ,what more natural than that those who are expecting to inherit a holy heaven1 should themselves seek while here to become a holy people8 ,surely we should desire a meetness for our inheritance as well as a title to it4 ,after speaking of the trial of their faith being much more precious than of gold which perisheth1 the apostle utters forth an imperious call to entire sanctification4 ,but as ,he which hath called you is holy1 so be ye holy in all manner of conversation2 because it is written1 ,be ye holy1 for ,i am holy4 ,thus he quotes from the words of the great lawgiver in ,leviticus--that ,moses1 whom all ,jews have delighted to honor1 and shows at a glance that the ,old ,testament1 as well as the ,new1 bears witness to the holiness of ,god1 and makes that fact a sufficient reason for the command and requirement that ,his people should be holy1 also4 ,our ,heavenly ,father1 then1 is a holy ,god and dwells in a holy heaven4 ,is it not most reasonable and most fit that ,he should require all who are to dwell with ,him forever in that holy place1 to be holy also8 ,and in order to find an abundant entrance into that everlasting kingdom1 we must be made holy while still clothed in flesh and sojourning upon earth4 ,nothing that is not already pure and holy can pass through the gates of pearl into the eternal city1 the ,new ,jerusalem4 ,holiness is what constitutes the family likeness between our ,father in heaven and ,his children both on earth and in heaven4 ,a lady was accosted in the streets of a western city by a stranger1 who asked her if she was not the daughter of such a one1 naming him4 ,she replied1 with some surprise at the question1 in the affirmative4 ,i knew you1 said the gentleman1 by your resemblance to your father who was my particular friend twenty-five years ago1 away back in the ,state of ,maine4 ,and the lady was delighted that the lineaments of her father's countenance were so impressed upon her own that she should thus be recognized even by one who had never seen her before as her father's child4 ,ah6 beloved1 have we the likeness of our ,heavenly ,father so imprinted upon our faces and upon our walk and upon our conversation that all who know ,him shall recognize ,his features in us8 ,oh1 for more of the family likeness which shall stamp us as sons of ,god wherever we are and whatever we do4 ,be ye holy1 for ,i am holy4 ,in comparison with the precious blood of ,christ ,peter characterizes silver and gold1 which men call precious metals1 as corruptible things1 and then gives the striking exhortation1 ,seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the ,spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren1 see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently1 and all this on the basis of the new birth which they had already received of the incorruptible seed by the word of ,god4 ,why1 ,peter1 although a fisherman and an unlearned and ignorant man1 yet when thou writest under the inspiration of the ,holy ,ghost1 it is almost as hard to keep up with thee as with thy beloved brother1 ,paul6 ,see how holiness is1 as it were1 piled up and repeated in various ways in the sentence quoted above4 7#a71 ,ye have purified your souls4 ,yes1 and it was ,peter who spoke before the council at ,jerusalem in reference to ,cornelius and his household1 and said that ,god put no difference between us and them1 purifying their hearts by faith4 ,the word purify is derived from a ,greek root which means fire4 ,souls are purified by the fire of the ,holy ,spirit1 and the result is a continual obeying the truth1 and 7#b71 the positive side of this purification is unfeigned love of the brethren1 and this is love with a pure heart and fervent1 the same love which ,john calls perfect love1 and the standard of which is in the words of the ,lord ,jesus1 ,as ,i have loved you that ye also love one another4 ,was ever more holiness crowded into a single verse8 ,peter had never been to a ,theological ,seminary1 but he had listened through three eventful years to the blessed teachings of the ,lord ,jesus1 and he had been filled with the ,holy ,ghost on the day of ,pentecost1 and without aiming at system or explanation1 he has compressed more sound theology into a single verse than we find in many a voluminous treatise and many a lengthy commentary and many an eloquent sermon4 ,and then in the rapturous eloquence of inspiration he tells us how to grow in grace4 ,wherefore1 laying aside all malice and all guile1 and hypocrisies1 and envies1 and all evil speakings1 as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word1 that ye may grow thereby1 and his last exhortation at the end of the second epistle is1 ,but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our ,lord and ,saviour1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,peter1 by no means1 teaches us that we grow into grace1 or that we grow into entire sanctification4 ,we first become receivers1 and get grace before we can grow in it1 and we must first receive entire sanctification before we can grow in it4 ,like all other gospel blessings1 this is the gift of ,god1 and is forever1 therefore1 unobtainable by any process of growth4 ,but ,peter says in effect1 in order to grow in grace you must do two things4 7#a71 ,lay aside everything that hinders growth1 specifying malice1 guile1 hypocrisies1 envies1 evil speakings4 ,now it is plain as the sun at noon-day that all these things are the fruits of the carnal mind4 ,and so in a single thought the exhortation is to lay aside1 or put off1 or give up to destruction1 the depravity of our nature1 the inbred sin which doth so easily beset1 and which so long as it exists1 will be an insuperable hindrance to all rapid and symmetrical growth1 and 7#b7 desire1 and of course1 partake of the sincere milk of the word4 ,ah1 here is wisdom1 the secret of successful growth1 in the spiritual as in the natural world1 is first to become healthy1 and then to take plenty of nourishment4 ,holiness is spiritual health1 and implies the absence of inbred sin which is always spiritual disease4 ,the child that is healthy and gets plenty of pure milk will grow and develop rapidly4 ,the time will soon come when he can eat and digest meat and still strengthen and expand his physical organism on this richer diet1 and thus he will finally become a large and strong man4 ,but the child may be healthy and still not grow because it is starving for want of food4 ,or1 it may have plenty of the most wholesome food and still not grow because disease prevents it from assimilating the nourishment4 ,sound health and plenty of food1 with proper exercise1 are the essentials of the right kind of growth4 ,now the ,holy ,bible contains not only milk for babes1 but strong meat for strong men4 ,it has been remarked by another that if ,christians would be giants they must eat giants' food4 ,and the essential requisite for appropriating either the milk or the meat is to have a sound spiritual constitution and that means simply entire sanctification4 ,peter is right again4 ,we grow by the sincere milk of the word after we have gotten rid of that which always and everywhere obstructs true growth4 ,of course my reader will not understand me to say1 any more than ,peter himself says1 that we experience growth in grace simply by a head knowledge of the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,i do not forget that it is not the written word but the ,eternal ,word1 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ ,himself1 who is the bread of life4 ,nor do ,i forget that we feed upon ,his broken body and ,his shed blood1 not by intellect1 not by reason1 not by culture1 not by learning1 but by faith4 ,but after all it is the ,bible1 or rather it is ,bible truth1 whether presented on the pages of inspiration or in the preached word1 which is the great instrumentality employed by the ,holy ,spirit1 in bringing men to ,christ1 and in feeding and nourishing and strengthening and edifying the church which has thus been gathered to ,him4 ,and so both ,peter in speaking about the sincere milk of the word1 and ,paul in referring to the strong meat1 by which term he characterizes the deeper spiritual truths of revelation1 are leading us to ,jesus1 the true bread1 the living bread1 the bread of life4 ,our apostle passes next to a most glowing description of the ,christian priesthood1 and again the leading idea of holiness flashes from his pen1 ,ye also1 as lively stones1 are built up a spiritual house1 an holy priesthood1 to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to ,god by ,jesus ,christ4 ,again1 ,ye are a chosen generation1 a royal priesthood1 an holy nation1 a peculiar people4 ,here is our title of nobility1 beloved1 and who of us would exchange it for an earldom1 or a dukedom or a kingdom8 ,not ,i at least4 ,the ,jews of old received spiritual blessing very largely1 and even temporal blessing also1 through the mediation of an outward priesthood4 ,and the family of priests were chosen and ordained of ,god ,himself4 ,no man taketh this honor unto himself but he that is called of ,god1 as was ,aaron4 ,but under the ,christian dispensation all ,god's saved people are priests as well as kings1 and the sacrifices which they offer are spiritual sacrifices1 the body as a living sacrifice to be consumed like a whole burnt offering in ,his service1 the fruit of the lips giving thanks to ,his name1 and the doing good and communicating1 that is to say1 a life rich in faith and good works1 such are the sacrifices with which ,god is well pleased4 ,but to be a ,christian priest in the sense here described must involve and does involve the idea of entire sanctification4 ,peter's words will not allow us to doubt that the priesthood of believers is a holy priesthood4 ,afterwards1 the chief of the apostles exhorts his readers to take ill treatment patiently when they have to suffer1 not for doing wrong but for doing well1 and reminds us of the example of ,christ1 ,who did no sin1 neither was guile found in ,his mouth2 who when ,he was reviled1 reviled not again2 when ,he suffered1 ,he threatened not1 but committed ,himself to ,him that judgeth righteously2 who ,his own self bare our sins in ,his own body on the tree1 that we1 being dead to sins1 should live unto righteousness1 winding up with a terse expression of the great doctrine of the atonement by whose stripes ye were healed4 ,paul would have us dead to sin by reckoning4 ,peter would have us dead to sins by making no response to the suggestions of ,satan or the temptations which he may present to us4 ,to be dead either to sin within us or to sins without us1 implies holiness of heart1 that is1 entire sanctification4 ,praise the ,lord for the perfect agreement of ,his two great apostles in regard to this glorious doctrine4 ,still further1 ,peter speaks of the holy women of old1 and exhorts ,christian women to be like them1 particularly in adorning themselves not with gay attire1 but with inward and spiritual graces4 ,and in his second epistle1 he alludes to holy men of ,god1 speaking through the ,old ,testament as they were moved by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,and here we have the best possible definition of inspiration1 in regard to which volumes have been written1 and very different views expressed by equally learned and candid men4 ,but what can be more satisfactory to the humble1 ,christian mind than just to feel that when he reads his ,bible1 he is perusing the words of holy men of ,god who spake as they were moved by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,such a mind will find no difficulty about inspiration4 ,in the last chapter of his second epistle1 ,peter rebukes the unbelief of the scoffers1 who then believed1 and whose successors still believe that the present order of the material universe will continue for an indefinite period1 if not1 indeed1 forever4 ,he assures us that the ,lord has not forgotten1 that ,he is not slack concerning ,his promises1 but that the very reason why the sinful world has been spared so long is because of ,god's long suffering and mercy1 not willing that any should perish1 but that all should come to repentance4 ,and1 then1 having declared that the heavens and the earth which are now1 are reserved unto fire1 that the day of the ,lord shall come as a thief in the night1 that the elements shall melt with fervent heat1 the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up1 he exclaims with most appropriate words1 ,seeing then1 that all these things shall be dissolved1 what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness1 and this in order that ye may be found of ,him in peace1 without spot and blameless4 ,praise the ,lord for the doctrine of entire sanctification as taught by the apostle of the circumcision4 ,amen4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,john4 ,john1 before ,pentecost1 was emphatically a ,son of ,thunder4 ,he could forbid a man to cast out devils in the name of ,jesus1 because the man was not of his own particular fold4 ,he was ready to imitate ,elijah by calling down fire from heaven to destroy the ,samaritans who would not extend the rites of hospitality to his ,master4 ,he was eager to have the highest possible place in the coming kingdom of his ,lord1 and this at whatever cost4 ,but after ,pentecost1 ,john was par excellence the apostle of love4 ,not that his character became anything like putty4 ,he could still rebuke evil and denounce ,diotrephes1 and forbid the elect lady to receive or countenance any who did not uphold the true1 sound doctrines of the gospel4 ,he was still a son of thunder against heresy and immorality1 but he was preeminently1 after his baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 a son of consolation4 ,his soul seems absolutely absorbed in the love of ,god1 and his exhortations to the churches1 seemed all to concentrate in two special points1 love ,god and love one another4 ,his heart was made perfect in love on the day of ,pentecost1 and he never lost the blessed experience4 ,he retained the blessing because he retained the ,blesser4 ,the ,holy ,comforter was his abiding guest and keeper4 ,the gospel of ,john contains many of the most profound and spiritual truths that ever fell from the lips of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,and the only distinction which ,john accords to himself1 and that always with the greatest modesty and humility1 is the disciple whom ,jesus loved4 ,he begins his gospel with a sublime assertion of the ,deity and prexistence of ,christ as the ,eternal ,word1 then tells of the incarnation1 how the ,word became flesh1 and we beheld ,his glory1 how although ,he was the ,light of the world1 yet the world knew ,him not1 and though ,he came unto ,his own 7the ,jews7 yet ,his own received ,him not1 but as many as did receive ,him1 whether ,jews or ,gentiles1 to them gave ,he power to become the children of ,god1 and this through a new birth1 not of human blood1 or title1 or pedigree1 not of man in any way whatever1 but of ,god4 ,it is not sufficient1 therefore1 to be a child of ,god by creation1 which1 indeed1 all men are1 but by adoption1 by the reception of the ,divine nature by birth4 ,and this new birth is more fully unfolded to the ,jewish ,sanhedrist1 ,nicodemus1 both as to its necessity and its nature4 ,ye must be born again4 ,the ,son of man must be lifted up4 ,the new birth is of water and the ,spirit4 ,the water is the water of life1 the gospel offered freely to all1 with its cleansing and refreshing and vivifying properties so well symbolized by water1 and the ,holy ,spirit is the effective personal agent by whom the regeneration is wrought in the heart of the penitent sinner1 though ,his operations may be as inexplicable as the wind1 which bloweth where it listeth1 and is known only by its results4 ,then we have the hinge-text of salvation1 ,god so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son1 that whosoever believeth in ,him should not perish but have eternal life4 ,thus1 in this marvelous discourse with ,nicodemus1 we have ,god's love or ,god's grace as the source of our salvation1 ,christ crucified as the ground of it1 and the ,holy ,spirit as the ,divine ,agent of its accomplishment4 ,glory be to the ,triune ,god4 ,not only the discourse of our ,lord with ,nicodemus on the new birth1 but ,his discourse1 also1 with the woman of ,samaria on true worship is given by ,john alone4 ,it is remarkable that not to a ,jewish ,rabbi1 not to the ,scribes and ,pharisees1 not to a ,jew at all1 but to a heathen or semi-heathen woman1 ,jesus made the first recorded1 positive declaration of ,his ,messiahship1 and showed her that as ,god is a ,spirit1 so they that worship ,him must do so1 not in any specific locality1 such as ,jerusalem or ,mount ,gerizim1 and not by any prescribed form or any outward ritual1 but in spirit and in truth4 ,no wonder that her heart was immediately and completely captivated by so grand and glorious a revelation1 and that1 at once1 she left her waterpot and went her way to become a preacher of righteousness to her fellow-townsmen4 ,passing over the fifth chapter1 with the appeal to the ,jews to search the ,scriptures and the assurance that they testified of ,him2 and the sixth chapter1 with its story of complete self-abnegation1 when after a stupendous miracle1 the people were disposed to take ,him by force and make ,him a king1 but ,he departed into a mountain ,himself alone1 and the next day1 the wonderful discourse upon the bread of life1 which sifted away from ,him a large proportion of those who had been so ready to proclaim ,him ,king1 and brought out of the core of ,his heart those pathetic words to the twelve1 ,will ye also go away81 we come to the seventh chapter and the feast of ,tabernacles1 at which1 on the occasion of the priest pouring water from the pool of ,siloam1 out of a golden pitcher into a trumpet-shaped receptacle above the altar1 amid the rejoicings of the people1 ,jesus stood and cried1 ,if any man thirst let him come unto ,me and drink4 ,he that believeth on ,me1 as the ,scripture hath said1 from within him shall flow rivers of living water4 ,the ,scripture referred to is1 probably1 ,isaiah #eh3aa1 and1 perhaps1 other similar passages4 ,and the ,lord shalt guide thee continually1 and satisfy thy soul in drought1 and make fat thy bones1 and thou shalt be like a watered garden and like a spring of water1 whose waters fail not4 ,but the beloved disciple himself gives us an extremely valuable inspired commentary on these words of the ,lord ,jesus1 in order that readers in all ages might make the true spiritual application which is intended by them4 ,but this spake ,he of the ,spirit which they that believe on ,him should receive1 for the ,holy ,ghost was not yet given1 because that ,jesus was not yet glorified4 ,these remarkable words seem to clearly imply that notwithstanding the presence and operation of the ,spirit in the former dispensations of ,god's grace1 yet ,he was to be poured out on all ,god's children under the gospel in a sense and to an extent1 which so far transcends the highest manifestation of ,his power in ,old ,testament times that in comparison it is said the ,holy ,ghost was not yet given1 or1 literally1 the ,holy ,ghost was not yet4 ,and this wondrous outpouring was to be after the glorification of ,jesus and as a consequence of that glorification4 ,so that ,pentecost1 with its untold wealth of privilege1 could not be realized till after the death1 resurrection and ascension of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,and we are clearly informed that what the church of the hundred and twenty received on the day of ,pentecost1 namely1 the purifying of their hearts by faith and the enduement of power1 that is to say1 entire sanctification1 with all its blessed accompaniments1 was not a privilege confined to apostolic times1 and to the opening of the ,holy ,ghost dispensation2 for ,peter boldly assured the wondering multitude that the promise of the same blessed experience is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off1 even as many as the ,lord our ,god shall call4 ,and thus it is for the church and for every individual believer1 until ,christ ,himself shall come again4 ,god help all ,christians everywhere to see and to believe and to realize it4 ,amen4 ,in the eighth chapter1 we are told how ,jesus showed the slavery of sin4 ,every one that committeth sin is the bond-servant of sin1 and coupled with this the glorious announcement that1 ,if the ,son1 therefore1 shall make you free1 ye shall be free indeed4 ,yes1 ,jesus came to free us not simply from the guilt and the condemnation and the penalty of sin1 but from that which brings guilt and condemnation and penalty1 even from sin itself4 ,here is true ,christian liberty1 and it does not mean license1 it does not mean do as you please1 it does not mean the liberty of making your own choices1 but it does mean be pleased with what pleases ,god1 and in this manner after all you will do as you please1 it means the glad acceptance of ,god's choices4 ,and so1 after all1 you do have your own way because it is ,god's way1 it means liberty and choice to do everything right and nothing wrong1 or to do right in all directions and wrong in none4 ,may ,god bring all ,his children out of slavery and into freedom for ,jesus' sake4 ,in the memorable discourse of the ,lord ,jesus with ,his disciples at the last supper1 as given by ,john in the #adth1 #aeth and #afth chapters of his gospel1 ,he told them of the blessed ,comforter1 which is the ,holy ,ghost1 whom the ,father would send in ,his name1 and as to the method of ,his coming ,he says1 ,if a man love ,me1 he will keep ,my words2 and ,my ,father will love him1 and ,we will come unto him and make ,our abode with him4 ,here1 ,i think1 beyond a doubt1 that the ,we refers to the ,father and the ,son1 and the manner of ,their coming and indwelling in the heart of the believer is through ,their representative1 the ,holy ,spirit4 ,and if this be true1 how is it possible that such a heart in which ,father1 ,son and ,holy ,ghost abide1 should not be sanctified wholly8 ,in his first ,epistle1 the beloved apostle develops beautifully the doctrine of perfect love4 ,he declares that ,god's children must not walk in darkness or sin1 and that those who do so cannot1 truthfully1 claim to have fellowship with ,him4 ,but if we walk in the light1 as ,he is in the light1 we have fellowship one with another1 7which implies fellowship with ,god7 and the blood of ,jesus ,christ1 ,his ,son1 cleanseth from all sin4 ,this is a very striking and all-important statement4 ,the verb is in the present tense1 and denotes a present and a continuous action4 ,it cleanseth persistently and continuously4 ,you trust in ,jesus this moment1 and the blood cleanseth now1 another moment and it cleanseth1 and thus on1 without intermission or cessation4 ,and the cleansing is from all sin1 sin committed and sin inbred1 sin in act1 word or thought1 sin outward and sin inward1 sin open and sin secret1 sin of knowledge and sin of ignorance1 literally and truly all sin4 ,if this does not mean entire sanctification1 what use is there in language as an expression of thought8 ,surely none4 ,but the objection is strongly urged by some that the next verse assures us that ,if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us4 ,but why sunder this verse from its appropriate connections8 ,were there not ,pharisees in the time of ,christ who would not admit that they were sinners1 and would not accept the baptism of repentance from ,john the ,baptist8 ,and did not the ,apostle ,john live to see the germs of incipient gnosticism showing themselves in the church1 assuming1 like modern ,christian science1 that all evil is in matter1 the soul is immaculate1 and some ,gnostics even believing that it was possible to have fellowship with ,god while living in all kinds of sensual indulgence and licentiousness1 and moreover denying the reality of the incarnation of ,christ1 as also of the crucifixion and resurrection8 ,these were the ,docetists or ,phantasiasts1 so well described by ,longfellow3 ,ah1 to how many faith has been ,no evidence of things unseen1 ,but a dim shadow1 which recasts ,the creed of the ,phantasiasts1 ,for whom no man of sorrows died3 ,for whom the tragedy divine ,was but a symbol and a sign1 ,and ,christ a phantom crucified4 ,now ,john in the passage referred to1 tells us that on certain conditions it is possible to experience through the blood of ,christ1 which means simply the merits of ,his atoning and vicarious sacrifice1 a complete cleansing from all sin1 and then turning to those who deny that they are sinners1 he exclaims1 and if we say that we have no sin1 and therefore do not need this cleansing1 and can do without this atonement1 then we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us4 ,how much more rational is such an interpretation than the exposition which makes one verse contradict the other1 and represents the apostle as first assuring us that we may be cleansed from all sin1 and then declaring in effect4 ,but be sure to remember that this cleansing is never really affected1 and you are never really without sin4 ,there are so many rich and blessed teachings in this epistle that we must needs make selection and leave many passages to be carefully and prayerfully pondered by the reader1 with the assurance that there is very much gold to be found for the digging2 but we would call attention in a special manner to ,john's description of perfect love4 ,there is no fear in love2 but perfect love casteth out fear1 because fear hath torment4 ,he that feareth is not made perfect in love4 ,it is clearly to be inferred from these expressions that whilst all ,christians do and must love ,god1 yet there is a stage denominated perfect love1 which many ,christians have not yet reached4 ,and this stage of religious experience is marked distinctly by the absence of fear4 ,most certainly our apostle does not mean for us to understand that we shall ever get beyond that reverential and filial fear1 which is the right and proper accompaniment of our childlike relation to our ,heavenly ,father4 ,but he specially describes the fear that will be gotten rid of as tormenting fear1 and this fear he declares that perfect love casteth out4 ,now we can readily see the reasonableness of this statement4 ,fear about the future1 whether as to temporal or spiritual things1 fear of evil tidings1 fear of man1 fear of death1 in short1 all tormenting fear is caused by the presence of inbred sin4 ,as a matter of course1 therefore1 when sin is cast out1 fear is cast out with it4 ,now perfect love is the positive side of entire sanctification2 it implies the absence of inbred sin and the unmixed love of ,god occupying the soul4 ,such love1 therefore1 most truly must cast out fear4 ,the impenitent sinner neither fears nor loves ,god4 ,the awakened sinner fears him1 but does not love ,him4 ,the justified believer both fears and loves4 ,sometimes the fear is in the ascendant and sometimes the love4 ,the entirely sanctified believer loves with all his heart1 and has no tormenting fear4 ,praise the ,lord4 ,and the beloved apostle instructs us also as to the method of obtaining the blessing of perfect love4 ,it is by the prayer of faith1 and the prayer of faith involves the idea of a preceding entire consecration4 ,for1 says ,john1 if our heart condemn us1 ,god is greater than our heart1 which probably signifies that ,he also will condemn us1 and1 therefore1 we cannot utter a believing prayer for such a blessing as entire sanctification while we are not wholly given up to the ,lord1 for while that is our case1 our heart will continue to condemn us4 ,but he continues1 ,if our heart condemn us not1 then have we confidence towards ,god4 ,and again1 ,this is the confidence that we have in ,him1 that if we ask anything according to ,his will1 ,he heareth us2 and if we know that ,he hear us1 whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions that we desired of ,him4 ,nowhere is the philosophy of the plan of full salvation more beautifully portrayed than in these precious words4 ,we are shown here that 7#a71 the seeker of entire sanctification must be wholly consecrated to ,god4 7#b71 ,that he must pray in faith4 7#c71 ,that he must pray according to ,god's will4 7#d71 ,that then he may know that he has the very thing he asks for4 ,here is wisdom4 ,let every seeker act upon it4 ,amen4 ,nor does ,john leave us in doubt as to the witness of the ,spirit to our conscious cleansing4 ,if we love one another 7i4e4 with a true and pure and unselfish and self-sacrificing ,christian love7 ,god dwelleth in us and ,his love is perfected in us4 ,hereby know we that we dwell in ,him and ,he in us1 because ,he hath given us of ,his ,spirit4 ,now to have ,god's love perfected in us1 and to have ,him to dwell in us1 can mean nothing less than entire sanctification1 and we know this1 as ,john tells us1 by ,his ,spirit4 ,we have1 therefore1 the witness of the ,spirit to perfect love as well as to adoption4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,entire ,,sanctification ,,as ,,taught ,,by ,,james ,,and ,,jude4 ,james and ,jude were brothers4 ,they were also brethren of the ,lord4 ,whether this expression means actual brothers1 namely1 children of ,joseph and ,mary1 or whether it means only cousins1 also whether these two men were apostles or not1 are questions which ,i leave to the ,biblical critics4 ,receiving without argument their respective epistles as belonging to the inspired canon1 ,i am to inquire what their teaching is in reference to the one theme of this book1 that is1 entire sanctification4 ,james1 as a writer1 is intensely practical4 ,as ,bishop of ,jerusalem he presided specially over the ,jewish ,christian ,church1 and his epistle is addressed to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad1 i4e41 to the ,jews of the ,dispersion1 primarily1 no doubt1 to the ,christian ,jews1 but also secondarily and by way of warning to the unconverted ,jews4 ,james was zealous of the law4 ,he fully agreed with ,paul and with ,peter that the yoke of circumcision and the ,mosaic law was not to be imposed upon the ,gentile ,churches1 but he1 no doubt1 strongly insisted that ,jewish converts should be still very careful to observe the outward law4 ,his epistle is like ,matthew's gospel1 and savors strongly of the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,as a bishop and overseer of a ,jewish flock of ,christians1 while he fully assented to ,paul's teaching on justification by faith1 he1 nevertheless1 urged upon the people with vehemence that they should show their faith by their works and that they should be doers of the word and not hearers only4 ,as ,paul completely demolishes the doctrine of salvation by the works of the law1 so ,james in his epistle offers us an inspired and a vigorous protest against every form of ,antinomianism4 ,thus the two writers1 both moved by the ,holy ,ghost1 present the two aspects of gospel truth so plainly that he may run that readeth4 ,we are saved by faith1 not by works1 says ,paul4 ,aye1 says ,james1 but we are saved in good works1 not out of them1 and we must be careful to maintain good works1 not in order to be saved1 but because we are saved4 ,good works are necessary1 not as the ground or the cause of salvation1 but as the fruit and resultant and test of the salvation which we have received by faith4 ,james1 therefore1 is not antagonistic to1 but only complementary of the great apostle of the ,gentiles4 ,and mark how he strikes or aims right at the mark of ,christian perfection in the very beginning of his epistle4 ,he assures us that if we let patience have her perfect work1 we shall be perfect and entire1 wanting nothing4 ,christian perfection1 then1 according to ,james1 is perfect patience4 ,christian perfection according to ,john1 is perfect love4 ,christian perfection1 according to ,paul1 is maturity or being thoroughly furnished unto all good works4 ,christian perfection1 according to ,peter1 is in being established1 strengthened1 settled4 ,surely none but a caviller will find any want of harmony between these different modes of expression4 ,they all imply deliverance from sin1 which is always instantaneous1 and some of them imply a mature ,christian character1 which is always gradual4 ,james gives a vivid description of inbred sin under the name of lust4 ,every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed4 ,then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth 7actual7 sin2 and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death4 ,we cannot doubt that ,james1 like the other writers of the ,bible1 believed in a personal devil1 for he speaks of a wisdom which is devilish and if a man is enticed to sin by the natural depravity of his heart1 we must not overlook the fact that the enticement implies an enticer1 and that the wicked spiritual adversary of our race knows how to adapt his baits to the peculiar form in which inbred sin is strongest in each individual1 and thus1 if possible1 to entrap and destroy him4 ,depravity exists by nature in all1 but in one man it is particularly felt in the direction of covetousness1 in another1 of pride1 in another1 of ambition1 in another1 of sensuality4 ,satan's temptations in the first of these would most likely be something which holds out the prospect of getting gain by sinning2 in the second1 it would be something to feed his intense admiration of self1 to cherish his pride2 in the third1 it would be the hope of political or some other kind of power on the condition of sacrificing principle2 in the fourth1 it would be the gratification of bodily appetites as in drunkenness1 gluttony1 or licentiousness4 ,thus the trap is set for every man1 and the trapper is wary4 ,god save us from his wiles4 ,and as ,peter tells us to lay aside inbred sin1 as it exists in the form of malice1 and guile1 and hypocrisies1 and envies1 and shows itself in evil speakings1 so ,james tells us to lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness1 or overflowing of wickedness4 ,ah1 beloved1 most truly did ,jesus say that the heart of man is a fountain of wickedness1 out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts and all actual sins2 yes1 there is by nature in each one of us a superfluity of naughtiness1 an overflowing of wickedness1 a natural depravity1 an inbred sin1 and this must be laid apart1 it must be gotten rid of by bringing and subjecting the heart where it dwells to the fiery baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 and then shall we be in a position to receive1 with meekness1 the engrafted word1 which is able to save our souls4 ,st4 ,james speaks of the law of liberty1 and of the royal law1 the latter being1 ,thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself1 and both mean1 ,i apprehend1 just what we have already alluded to as the law of love4 ,love1 says ,paul1 is the fulfilling of the law1 and this is liberty1 and this is royalty1 the freedom to do ,god's will because we love it1 and to have all the antagonisms to that blessed will expelled from our hearts1 and all lawful affections and passions subdued and subjected to ,him who is our ,king1 and who reigns without a rival in our hearts4 ,i worship ,thee1 sweet will of ,god1 ,and all ,thy ways adore2 ,and every day ,i live1 ,i seem ,to love ,thee more and more4 ,if this is not the true liberty and the true royalty1 where shall we find them8 ,not on earth1 at least4 ,james does not spend words in exhorting us to seek more religion1 but he tersely defines pure religion4 ,and that is what we want4 ,it does not depend upon age1 nor size1 nor growth4 ,a stalk of corn may be pure as soon as it raises itself above the surface of the ground4 ,another stalk may be impure and diseased when it is many feet in height4 ,a ,christian may seek and find pure religion and undefiled1 very soon after he is born again4 ,another ,christian may spend years and years in seeking more religion1 and yet not become the possessor of purity of heart4 ,this pure religion1 according to our author1 consists in works of beneficence and love as to its outward manifestations1 but its true inward principle is in keeping one's self unspotted from the world4 ,oh1 that all my readers with myself1 may thus keep themselves unspotted from the world1 which involves the idea of being sanctified wholly1 and in the end may be found of ,him in peace without spot and blameless4 ,but an objector here interposes with a quotation from ,james which is supposed to preclude the possibility of living without sin4 ,in many things we offend all4 ,but this expression is not to be thus interpreted4 ,to make it mean that all ,christians must continue in the commission of sin to the end of their lives1 would not only be doing violence to that which is the very trend of our author's teaching1 namely1 a spotless morality and a pure and holy life1 but it would also prove too much4 ,for a little further on we read1 in reference to that unruly evil1 the tongue1 ,therewith bless we ,god1 even the ,father2 and therewith curse we men which are made after the similitude of ,god1 and again1 ,behold1 we put bits in the horses' mouths that they may obey us1 and we turn about their whole body4 ,surely no expositor would maintain from such language that ,james was a tamer of horses and a profane swearer4 ,the truth is1 that ,james1 out of kindness and courtesy1 includes himself among his hearers or readers1 and means to show us how liable we are to give offence through rash and ill-advised words1 and then1 on the other hand1 he does not fail to mention the man who does not offend in word1 and who is able1 by the grace of ,god1 to bridle the whole body1 that is1 to live without sin1 and whom1 again1 he styles a perfect man4 ,our author further informs us that heavenly1 divine wisdom is first pure1 then peaceable4 ,the carnal ,christian1 or babe in ,christ1 would often reverse this arrangement4 ,he is clamorous for peace1 often to the extent that he would have a wisdom that is first peaceable and then pure1 but the ,holy ,ghost puts purity first1 and ,he is always right4 ,no compromise must be made with error in doctrine1 or evil in practice1 even for the sake of peace4 ,but when we become possessors of a wisdom which is first pure1 then1 also1 the other qualities follow in proper succession1 peaceable1 gentle1 easy to be entreated and the rest4 ,listen1 again1 to the stern moralist and preacher of holiness1 ,cleanse your hands1 ye sinners1 and purify your hearts1 ye double minded4 ,here1 again1 we can but thankfully admire the perfect accuracy of the ,holy ,ghost1 as regards the method of full salvation4 ,to cleanse the hands is to obtain pardon and absolution for what we have done1 and it is always the first work of the unsaved man to repent and seek the forgiveness of his sins4 ,when this forgiveness has been obtained1 then his hands are cleansed1 but he may still be double-minded4 ,he may still be unstable in all his ways4 ,his spiritual course may still be zig-zag4 ,his life may still be a series of sinning and repenting1 and sinning again and repenting again1 till he cries out in his misery1 ,o wretched man that ,i am1 who 7not what7 shall deliver me from this body of death8 ,and then ,james's prescription comes home to him1 ,purify your hearts1 ye double-minded4 ,seek and obtain the blessing of entire sanctification1 and1 henceforth1 with one mind and one purpose1 run joyfully in the way of ,christ's commandments4 ,justification first and entire sanctification afterwards4 ,first cleanse your hands1 then purify your hearts4 ,and with this agree the words of the ,psalmist1 ,who shall ascend into the hill of the ,lord8 or who shall stand in ,his holy place8 ,he that hath clean hands1 that is1 whose sins have been pardoned1 and a pure heart1 that is1 who has been sanctified wholly4 ,the teachings of the ,holy ,ghost are marvelously harmonious in the ,old ,testament and the ,new4 ,finally1 ,james assures us that the prayer of faith shall save the sick1 and the ,lord shall raise him up4 ,and not only physical but spiritual blessing may be received in the same way for ,if he have committed sins1 they shall be forgiven him4 ,his conclusion is that ,the supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working1 ,r4,v41 but ,i prefer to regard the ,greek participle in the original as in the passive voice1 and then the meaning would be1 as suggested by ,dr4 ,s4,a4 ,keen in his ,faith papers1 ,the prayer of a righteous man being energized 7by the ,holy ,ghost7 availeth much4 ,i should understand the prayer of faith1 therefore1 to be a prayer begotten in the heart of the believer by the ,holy ,ghost1 and with the prayer is communicated also the corresponding faith1 and when this is the case1 the answer is sure4 ,faith1 in this use of the word1 is a special gift1 and may be given to some and withheld from others1 also given at one time and withheld at another1 just as ,god in ,his infinite and unerring wisdom may decide4 ,this kind of faith is one of the special gifts of which we have an account in the #abth of #ast ,corinthians1 and differs1 therefore1 from the grace of faith or the power of believing the gospel unto salvation when it is presented1 which is given to all men1 and for the exercise of which1 by actually believing1 all are held responsible4 ,he that believeth shall be saved1 and he that believeth not shall be condemned4 ,and it is ,jude1 the brother of ,james1 who exhorts his readers to pray in the ,holy ,ghost1 the very same kind of praying which ,james calls the prayer of faith1 and about which ,paul also declares that the ,spirit ,himself also helpeth our infirmities1 for we know not what we should pray for as we ought2 but the ,spirit ,himself maketh intercession for with groanings which cannot be uttered4 ,and ,he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the ,spirit1 because ,he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of ,god4 ,a ,holy ,ghost prayer1 therefore1 such as ,jude alludes to1 is a prayer that is energized by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,it is not the ,holy ,ghost who does the groaning1 but ,he causes the heart of the consecrated believer to groan1 by kindling those intense desires after some specific blessing1 which often are1 indeed1 too deep for clear expression by utterance1 and with the groanings1 also1 the faith is given1 which takes hold of ,god's ,almightiness for the answer4 ,such prayers do1 indeed1 move the hand that moves the world1 and whether it be for the healing of the sick1 or the conversion of sinners1 or the entire sanctification of believers1 or the supply of temporal needs1 or anything else which the ,holy ,spirit may suggest1 the blessing is sure to come4 ,i am not forgetting that the assistance of the ,holy ,spirit is needed1 and that it is obtainable in all true prayer1 but ordinary prayer must be founded upon the promises of ,god and an exercise of will power to believe those promises1 and therefore1 it must be accompanied1 in order to be effectual1 by ordinary faith1 the act of believing4 ,extraordinary prayer must be inspired directly by the ,holy ,spirit1 and the gift of faith must come directly from ,him4 ,so that we have ordinary prayer1 ordinary faith and ordinary results in the one case1 while in the other1 we have extraordinary prayer1 extraordinary faith and extraordinary results4 ,praise the ,lord4 ,jude tells us that as ,christian believers we are to hate even the garment spotted by the flesh1 that is1 to keep entirely clear of all the pollutions of sin1 symbolized by the garment of the leper which was regarded as unclean1 and which passage1 when spiritually interpreted1 must mean the unspotted holiness of the true ,christian4 ,and as to the question of one's ability to live without sin1 he commits us to the care of ,him who is able to keep us from falling1 the very thing we need and which we cannot do for ourselves1 and to present us faultless before the presence of ,his glory with exceeding joy4 ,first1 then1 we are to be sanctified wholly1 then kept from falling by the power of ,christ through the indwelling ,spirit4 ,finally1 presented without spot1 blameless and faultless in the presence of ,god's glory in heaven4 ,and this is the gospel according to ,jude4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,god ,,the ,,father4 ,there is one expression in the epistle of ,jude1 which ,i purposely omitted in the preceding chapter1 that it might have a more prominent place in the present one4 ,nowhere else in the ,bible are we expressly declared to be sanctified by ,god the ,father4 ,it is cause of rejoicing1 however1 that every person of the ,godhead1 every member of the adorable ,trinity1 is concerned in the sanctification of a human soul4 ,and this fact1 like many others1 points to the extreme importance of the subject on which we are treating2 for if the working of ,god the ,father1 ,god the ,son and ,god the ,holy ,spirit is required1 and is brought into active operation in order to cleanse our hearts from the pollution of sin1 and fit us for heaven1 then it must be in the estimation of the triune ,god1 a matter of prime necessity that we should be thus cleansed4 ,if ,god1 therefore1 regards it as an essential that we be sanctified wholly1 let us beware of the thought that it is only optional1 that it is possible1 if possible at all1 only for the few and not for the many1 and that it can be done without1 or what is practically too nearly the same thing1 postponed until we see1 or think we see1 the near approach of death4 ,what every person of the ,godhead is urging upon our acceptance now1 let us not dare either to reject or postpone4 ,behold1 now is the accepted time2 behold1 now is the day of salvation4 ,paul said to the ,ephesian elders at ,miletus1 ,and now1 brethren1 ,i commend you to ,god1 and to the word of ,his grace1 which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified4 ,ah1 beloved reader1 we can never estimate the debt we owe to the unbounded grace of ,god4 ,grace means unmerited favor4 ,grace is ,god's infinite love in active working for the salvation of man4 ,and1 the source of our sanctification1 just as of our justification1 and indeed of every gospel blessing provided for us1 is the grace of ,god4 ,and when our souls are stirred up to ecstatic gratitude and love1 by the thought of the unspeakable gift of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and of the unspeakable blessings derived from and through ,him1 let us not forget that behind it all and over it all1 is the broad and incomprehensible declaration1 ,god so loved the world1 that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son4 ,absolute sovereignty1 authority1 supremacy and paternity belong to ,god the ,father4 ,the ,father sends the ,son4 ,the ,father and the ,son send the ,holy ,spirit4 ,neither the ,son nor the ,spirit1 nor both together1 ever send the ,father4 ,the ,father created all things by ,jesus ,christ4 ,jesus ,christ cast out devils by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,the ,son reveals the ,father1 for no man knoweth the ,father save the ,son1 and he to whomsoever the ,son will reveal ,him4 ,and the ,holy ,spirit reveals ,jesus1 for no man can say that ,jesus is ,lord but by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,he shall testify of ,me4 ,he shall take of ,mine and show it unto you4 ,he shall not speak of ,himself2 but what ,he shall hear 7from the ,father and the ,son7 that shall ,he speak4 ,thus the greatest gift that ,god the ,father has given or could give to ,his creature man is the gift of ,his ,son4 ,the greatest gift that ,god the ,son has given to man after ,he gave ,himself for us is the gift of the ,holy ,ghost1 for it is not only said1 ,i will pray the ,father and ,he shall give you another ,comforter1 and whom the ,father will send in ,my name1 but also1 ,if ,i depart ,i will send ,him unto you1 so we may say in general terms1 that the ,holy ,ghost as a personal sanctifier1 energizer and ,comforter1 is the promise of the ,father and the gift of the ,son4 ,and it may be added that the greatest gift of the ,holy ,spirit to man is the gift of entire sanctification or perfect love4 ,glory be to ,god the ,father1 ,god the ,son and ,god the ,holy ,ghost4 ,amen4 ,and thus when ,jude tells us that we are sanctified by ,god the ,father1 ,he means not only that we are separated unto the gospel of life and salvation1 set apart to ,god and ,his service1 but1 also1 that ,god the ,father has made ample provision in the death of ,his ,son for all ,christian believers to be cleansed from every stain of moral defilement1 delivered from inbred sin1 sanctified wholly1 made perfect in love1 and filled with the ,spirit4 ,we repeat1 therefore1 that it will be a matter of eternal thankfulness and gratitude to the redeemed soul1 that the source of all these unspeakable blessings is in the infinite grace and love of ,god4 ,everywhere throughout the ,old ,testament1 the holiness of ,god is brought prominently forward and insisted upon4 ,and ,his own holiness is presented as a sufficient reason why ,his people should be holy also4 ,be ye holy1 for ,i am holy1 which command and declaration are repeated and endorsed by the ,apostle ,peter in his first epistle1 ,but as ,he which hath called you is holy1 so be ye holy in all manner of conversation1 because it is written1 ,be ye holy1 for ,i am holy4 ,as ,god the ,father1 therefore1 is ,himself infinitely holy1 and ,he requires all ,his children to be holy even in the present life1 it goes without saying1 as already shown1 that ,he makes provision in ,his gospel for them to be made and kept holy4 ,and it is precisely the standard of ,god's holiness which is set before us by the ,saviour as the mark at which we also are to aim1 and aim not vainly nor unsuccessfully4 ,be ye perfect even as your ,father in heaven is perfect4 ,not that our perfection or our holiness can be equal to ,his in degree4 ,that would make the finite equal to the infinite1 and would be an impossibility and absurdity1 but that we are to be perfect in our sphere as ,he is perfect in ,his1 that we are to be holy with the same kind of holiness that appertains to ,him1 in a word1 that we are to be perfect in love as ,he is perfect love1 and that we are to be delivered from all sin1 not by any effort or any merit of our own but by ,his unmerited grace in ,christ ,jesus4 ,let us rejoice and praise ,his name that we are sanctified by ,god the ,father4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,god ,,the ,,son4 ,as the source of our entire sanctification is in the unmerited love and grace of ,god the ,father1 so the ground of it is in the blood of ,christ the ,son4 ,justification and ,sanctification are by no means identical1 but as regards the origin1 the ground1 and the means1 they are precisely parallel4 ,we are told that justification is by grace1 and1 again1 that it is by the blood of ,jesus1 and1 still again1 that it is by faith4 ,it is1 therefore1 ,god's grace1 it is ,christ's blood1 it is man's faith by which we are justified4 ,the originating cause of our justification is the grace of ,god4 ,the procuring cause is the blood of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the instrumental cause is our own faith4 ,and all this is equally true of our entire sanctification4 ,we are not justified in one way and sanctified in another4 ,we are sanctified as well as justified by the grace of ,god4 ,we are sanctified as well as justified by the blood of ,christ4 ,we are sanctified as well as justified by our own faith4 ,all gospel blessings are founded upon the vicarious sacrifice of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,he of ,god is made unto us wisdom and righteousness1 7justification7 and sanctification and redemption4 ,and sanctification1 no more than justification1 releases us from our dependence upon the atonement4 ,if we are either justified or sanctified today it is not because we deserve it1 but because ,christ died for us4 ,if we shall be either justified or sanctified at any future period of our eternity1 it will not be because we deserve it but because ,christ died for us4 ,and so forever and forever we shall need the merit of ,his death1 and we shall rejoice to join in the song of redemption unto ,him that loved us1 and washed us from our sins in ,his own blood1 and hath made us kings and priests unto ,god and ,his ,father2 to ,him be glory and dominion forever and ever4 ,amen4 ,we are everlastingly linked to the atonement of ,jesus ,christ1 and this both for the pardon of past sins1 and the entire cleansing of the heart4 ,thou shalt call ,his name ,jesus because ,he shall save ,his people from their sins1 which signifies1 ,i apprehend1 both the forgiveness of sins already committed and saving them from the commission of sins in the future4 ,here1 then1 we have justification and regeneration4 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god who taketh away the sin of the world4 ,this must mean the sin of our nature1 the sin that dwelleth in us1 the sin that doth so easily beset us1 in a word1 inbred sin4 ,and to have the inbred sin taken away means nothing more and nothing less and nothing else1 than entire sanctification4 ,yes1 beloved1 we are sanctified by ,god the ,son4 ,the blood of ,jesus ,christ1 ,his ,son1 cleanseth us from all sin4 ,here we have a positive statement that upon certain conditions to be fulfilled by us1 we shall experience a cleansing from outward sin1 and inward sin1 and sin of ignorance1 and conscious sin1 and open sin and secret sin1 and all sin4 ,there is no mistaking the length and breadth and all comprehensiveness of this glorious promise4 ,beloved1 let us walk in the light as ,he is in the light1 and so know1 for ourselves1 that this wondrous declaration is divinely true4 ,and this is a result of ,his atoning sacrifice1 which result ,he had in view1 no less than the removal of our guilt when ,he laid down ,his life for us4 ,wherefore1 ,jesus1 also1 that ,he might sanctify the people with ,his own blood1 suffered without the gate4 ,glory to ,his ,name4 ,he died1 therefore1 not alone that we might be saved from guilt and condemnation and penalty1 but that we might be saved from sin1 or sanctified wholly4 ,and ,i would that every one of my ,christian readers might unite in the hymn4 ,the cleansing stream ,i see1 ,i see1 ,i plunge and oh1 it cleanseth me4 ,it cleanseth me4 ,yes1 cleanseth me4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,god ,,the ,,holy ,,ghost4 ,as already intimated all the persons of the adorable ,trinity are concerned in the work of entirely sanctifying a human soul4 ,and this is naturally to be expected1 because ,god is one ,trinitarianism is not ,tritheism4 ,in essence one1 in personality three1 such is the revelation of ,holy ,scripture in regard to the eternal ,godhead4 ,the ,bible reveals the fact1 but does not reveal the how4 ,we bow in adoring gratitude and love before an incomprehensible mystery1 and rejoice in believing even without understanding4 ,now the ,holy ,spirit is regarded by nearly all ,christians as distinctively and specially the ,sanctifier1 ,the renewing of the ,holy ,ghost which ,he shed on us abundantly through ,jesus ,christ1 our ,saviour1 is spoken of in the epistle to ,titus in direct connection with the washing of regeneration1 and seems intended to be experienced just after it4 ,possibly the renewing here spoken of1 may signify only the change of heart wrought by the ,holy ,ghost at the new birth1 but possibly1 also1 the apostle had in mind the entire cleansing of the heart from sin4 ,and in that case the renewing need not be any more gradual or progressive than the washing1 which all admit to be instantaneous4 ,peter1 in describing1 to the ,church at ,jerusalem1 the occurrences which he had witnessed at the house of ,cornelius in ,cesarea1 used this language3 ,and ,god which knoweth the hearts1 bare them witness1 giving them the ,holy ,ghost1 even as ,he did unto us1 and put no difference between us and them1 purifying their hearts by faith4 ,evidently here the chief of the apostles gives us to understand that the giving of the ,holy ,ghost1 and the purifying of the heart by faith1 are co-instantaneous and identical experiences4 ,and if this be so1 the ,holy ,ghost1 who is a ,divine person1 and not a mere influence1 must be the effective agent in purifying the heart1 that is to say1 it is ,he who by ,his ,divine energy sanctifies us wholly4 ,and with this agree the words of ,john the ,baptist3 ,i indeed baptize you with water1 unto repentance1 but ,he that cometh after me is mightier than ,i1 whose shoes ,i am not worthy to bear4 ,he shall baptize you with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire4 ,for what purpose is this fiery baptism with the ,holy ,ghost8 ,most certainly that it may consume the inbred sin of our nature1 as fire consumes the chaff1 or destroys the alloy that the gold may be left pure4 ,paul in his epistle to the ,romans uses the following language1 viz3 ,that ,i should be the minister of ,jesus ,christ to the ,gentiles1 ministering the gospel of ,god that the offering up of the ,gentiles might be acceptable1 being sanctified by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,this great apostle was the first to clearly understand the perfect equality between ,jew and ,gentile in the gospel of salvation1 and as he made hundreds of ,gentile converts in ,his extensive missionary journeys1 and offered them up with their own consent and co-operation in entire consecration to ,god1 they were sanctified by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the same apostle says to the ,thessalonians1 ,we are bound to give thanks always to ,god for you1 brethren1 beloved of the ,lord1 because ,god hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the ,spirit and belief of the truth4 ,this is the true election and the true salvation1 a salvation from sin1 through sanctification of the ,spirit and this is to be obtained by faith4 ,and the apostle of the circumcision uses language very similar in addressing the ,jewish ,christians who are scattered abroad1 and whom he addresses as ,elect according to the foreknowledge of ,god the ,father1 through sanctification of the ,spirit1 unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of ,jesus ,christ4 ,comparing these two citations we observe again1 that the blood of ,jesus ,christ is the ground of our sanctification1 and by a continuous sprinkling we may have a continuous cleansing1 and also that the ,holy ,spirit is the effective agent in applying that precious blood1 and in sanctifying our souls1 on condition that we believe the truth4 ,god help all ,christians to be not faithless1 but believing4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,the ,,truth4 ,we have just seen that the ,spirit operates in the work of sanctification in connection with belief of the truth on our part4 ,and with this agree the words of our ,lord in ,his intercessory prayer4 ,sanctify them through ,thy truth4 ,thy word is truth4 ,the word here is not the eternal ,logos1 but ,god's revealed truth as given in ,holy writ4 ,and it is a statement of the highest importance1 made by ,him who is the truth1 that the medium or means of our sanctification is in the truth of ,god as made known to us in the gospel of ,his ,son4 ,here1 again1 the ,apostle ,peter gives expression to the same sentiment when he says3 ,whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises2 that by these ye might be partakers of the ,divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust4 ,if we are favored to escape the corruption that is in the world1 we are sanctified wholly1 and this is effected1 ,peter says1 not by works of righteousness1 not by resolutions or penances1 not by striving to do holiness1 before we seek to be holy1 but by faith in the promises of ,god4 ,these promises are very numerous1 and varied in character on the pages of the ,bible4 ,by seizing upon them as written specially for us1 we make them our own1 and they become in and by ,jesus ,christ yea and amen1 that is to say1 we realize them in our own experience to be the truth1 and thus when we read ,this is the will of ,god even your sanctification1 or1 ,the very ,god of peace sanctify you wholly1 or1 ,i will circumcise your heart1 or ,i will put my ,spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes1 immediately the truth is impressed upon our hearts as a glorious reality1 and we are enabled to reckon ourselves dead1 indeed1 unto sin1 and alive unto ,god1 and to realize that the ,saviour's prayer is answered and we are in ,his own blessed words1 sanctified by the truth4 ,if any reader will take a concordance and look for the word truth1 and search out the passages containing it1 he will be convinced that1 however men may look at it1 we have to do with the ,lord ,god of truth1 and that ,his estimate of truth is so high that ,he will by no means countenance any person or anything that liveth or maketh a lie4 ,and if we would honor ,him1 we must honor ,his truth1 the truth that is to make us free from the bondage of inbred sin1 the truth which we are commanded to buy1 whatever may be the price1 and sell it not1 the truth which the ,lord desires in the inward parts as well as upon the lips1 the truth of ,god1 the truth of holiness1 the truth by which we are sanctified1 the truth of the word4 ,and then we shall find in our own experience that ,a ,god of truth and without iniquity1 just and right is ,he1 that ,he will send out ,his light and ,his truth that they may bring us to ,his holy hill and to ,his tabernacle1 that ,he has given us a banner1 even the banner of holiness to the ,lord1 to be displayed because of the truth1 and we must never let it trail in the dust1 that ,his truth shall be our shield and buckler1 and that while the law was given by ,moses1 grace and truth came by ,jesus ,christ4 ,glory be to ,his precious name forever1 who is the truth4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,sanctified ,,by ,,faith4 ,the faith-faculty was given to man at ,his first creation4 ,adam believed ,god and was obedient and happy1 and the first thing that the wily tempter attacked1 and1 alas1 with too much success1 was man's faith4 ,yea1 hath ,god said1 and ,ye shall not surely die4 ,first1 a question4 ,then1 a doubt of ,god's truth2 then1 a doubt of ,his love1 and the rest was easy4 ,man stood so long as he did stand by faith4 ,he fell when he did fall by unbelief4 ,god could not be ,god if ,he did not have faith in ,himself4 ,man could not be the child of ,god if he did not have faith in ,god4 ,faith binds us in the closest spiritual union with our ,father in heaven4 ,unbelief severs this bond of union and separates us from our ,creator and ,redeemer4 ,beloved1 let us have faith in ,god4 ,ye are all the children of ,god by faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,this is the ,christian's pedigree4 ,it is true that in a broad and subordinate sense all men are the children of ,god since ,he created them all4 ,and this was known even to a ,greek poet1 as quoted by ,paul at ,athens1 ,for we are also ,his offspring4 ,but we must not fail to remember that in ,john's gospel we have this statement1 viz3 ,as many as received ,him1 to them gave ,he power to become the sons of ,god1 even to them that believe on ,his name4 ,so that it is through faith that we become the children of ,god1 not only by creation1 not only by adoption1 but by birth1 ,ye must be born again4 ,believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ and thou shalt be saved4 ,he that believeth on the ,son hath everlasting life3 and he that believeth not the ,son shall not see life1 but the wrath of ,god abideth on him4 ,now1 the faith-faculty1 or the grace of faith1 or the power of believing ,god's truth1 when it is presented1 is given to all mankind4 ,but the exercise of that power which is actual and saving faith1 often requires the coperation of the human will4 ,and1 therefore1 ,god commands us to believe1 and holds us responsible for obedience to that command4 ,he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved2 but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned4 ,r4,v4 ,thus1 it is that we are saved by faith4 ,and this is true not only in religion1 but in science as well1 and not in science only1 but in daily life and daily business as well4 ,many of the well-established truths of science are matters of faith1 and not of demonstration4 ,all intelligent people believe that there is a hidden force which they call the attraction of gravitation4 ,nobody can tell what it is1 nobody can prove its existence4 ,it is received and adopted by faith1 and serves as an excellent working hypothesis4 ,that is all4 ,those who accept the undulatory theory of light are necessitated to believe that all space is pervaded by an exceedingly tenuous fluid which is called ether1 and that it is in this medium that the waves of light from self-luminous bodies are produced4 ,nobody has demonstrated the existence of this ether4 ,it is1 for the present1 accepted by faith1 and explains the phenomena of light better than any other hypothesis propounded4 ,science is saved by faith4 ,the home is saved by faith4 ,if want of confidence comes between the husband and wife1 or between parents and children1 farewell to all the enjoyment of home life4 ,finance1 commerce1 trade are all saved by faith4 ,when business men1 manufacturers or merchants lose faith in one another1 or in their government1 investments cease1 machinery stops1 panics occur1 and hard times are complained of4 ,as faith is the bond that binds men to ,god1 so it is the bond that binds men one to another4 ,when confidence is lost1 all is lost4 ,even a solvent bank may be broken1 from a sudden run upon it1 caused by want of faith4 ,now1 as faith is the substance of things hoped for1 because it makes them real1 as it is the evidence of things not seen1 because it convinces the mind of the actual existence of the invisible1 let us apply this thought to the matter in hand that1 namely1 of entire sanctification4 ,paul in his valedictory to the ,ephesian elders said to them1 ,and now1 brethren1 ,i commend you to ,god and to the word of ,his grace1 which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified1 and in the commission to ,paul himself the ,saviour says1 ,to open their eyes1 and to turn them from darkness to light1 and from the power of ,satan unto ,god1 that they may receive forgiveness of sins1 and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me4 ,and as mentioned elsewhere1 sanctification of the ,spirit is used by the apostle in direct connection with belief of the truth4 ,there can be no doubt1 therefore1 that the instrumental means of entire sanctification is faith in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,this is the confidence1 says the beloved ,john1 that we have in ,him1 that if we ask anything according to ,his will1 ,he heareth us1 and if we know that ,he hear us whatsoever we ask1 we know that we have the petitions that we desired of ,him4 ,let the consecrated believer1 then1 ask for a clean heart1 ask for perfect love1 ask for entire sanctification1 ask for the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 and he knows he is asking according to the will of ,god4 ,then1 according to ,john1 he knows that he is heard1 and knows also by faith1 because it is ,god's promise that he has the petitions he desired of ,him4 ,that is to say1 when he thus prays1 he is to put forth the act of faith1 by an actual volition and will to believe that he has the clean heart1 the perfect love1 the entire sanctification1 the ,holy ,ghost baptism1 which he asked for4 ,and this will be honoring ,god by taking ,him at ,his word4 ,it will be the first evidence that he is sanctified wholly1 the evidence of faith1 and the other evidence1 the witness of the ,spirit may be prayed for and waited for1 but1 in the meantime1 he can and must rely with unwavering confidence upon the evidence or witness of faith alone4 ,god never sends the witness of the ,spirit till we honor ,him by accepting the witness of faith4 ,i said we must believe by an act of the will4 ,and some reader may object to this statement by asserting that faith or belief is not a matter of volition1 but a matter of evidence4 ,but ,i am not asking any one to believe without evidence4 ,i am asking him simply to give its rightful force to the evidence4 ,it is not for want of evidence that any earnest1 consecrated seeker is failing to believe that ,christ is able and willing to sanctify him wholly1 and to do it now4 ,he asserts it in many forms and repeats it again and again as ,his ,divine will that ,his people should be holy1 and if ,he is not able to make them holy here and now1 ,his omnipotence is impugned1 and if ,he is not willing to make them holy here and now1 ,he must desire them to continue longer in sin1 which thought would impugn ,his own holiness4 ,no1 it is not for want of evidence1 but because the faith-faculty has become weakened and paralyzed by sin1 and now we must determine to believe1 by putting our will on to the side of faith1 and allowing it1 no longer1 to remain on the side of unbelief4 ,many a seeking soul has come out into the fullness of salvation by singing the hymn3 ,i can1 ,i will1 ,i do believe ,that ,jesus saves me now4 ,the man who came to ,jesus with his right hand withered1 was told to stretch it forth4 ,he might have said where is my evidence that it will do any good to try8 ,but he put his will into the obedient attitude4 ,he willed to stretch it forth1 and made the effort1 and with the obedient will the power came from ,jesus1 and he stretched it forth and was restored4 ,to every one of weak and paralyzed faith1 ,i say1 nay1 ,jesus says1 ,stretch forth thy hand of faith1 ,i am here to be responsible for the result4 ,believe and receive and confess and rejoice4 ,beloved1 we are sanctified by faith4 ,glory to the ,lamb4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,conclusion4 ,i trust it has been sufficiently demonstrated that the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification are fully and clearly taught in ,holy ,scripture4 ,all the way from the patriarchs to the apostles in the law1 in the types1 in the ,psalms1 in the prophets1 in the history1 in the gospels1 in the epistles1 we find that ,god requires ,his people to be holy and to be holy now1 that ,he makes it1 therefore1 their privilege to be holy1 and that ,he has made ample provision1 in the sacrificial offering of ,christ1 for them to be made holy4 ,for their sakes1 says the blessed ,saviour1 ,i sanctify ,myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth1 or as the margin1 truly sanctified1 or as the ,revised ,version1 that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth4 ,the ,lord ,jesus ,christ most assuredly did not need to be made holy1 but all ,his redeemed children being subjects of inbred sin do need it4 ,as for ,him1 ,he was the holy thing that was to be born of the ,virgin ,mary4 ,he knew no sin1 ,he did no sin1 ,he was holy1 harmless1 undefiled and separate from sinners1 and1 therefore1 when ,he says ,i sanctify ,myself1 ,he means nothing more nor less than ,i consecrate ,myself1 or ,i set ,myself apart1 but in the other clause where the term sanctify is used in reference to ,his people1 it must mean that they may be cleansed from all sin entirely sanctified1 made holy or pure in heart4 ,he sets ,himself apart1 therefore1 to the work of redemption and salvation that ,he may have a holy people on earth1 as without controversy ,he must and will have a holy people in heaven4 ,we have shown that entire sanctification is coetaneous with the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 in fact1 that the two experiences are in an important sense identical1 or1 at least1 so related to each other that whoever has one has the other4 ,it is ,christ and none other who baptizes with the ,holy4 ,ghost4 ,he shall baptize you with the ,holy ,ghost and fire1 not as some imagine1 ,i think erroneously1 that there are to be two baptisms1 first that of the ,holy ,ghost1 and afterwards that of fire in the way of affliction or persecution1 though plenty of these are promised and experienced by those who would live godly in ,christ ,jesus1 but simply that ,he shall baptize you with the ,holy ,ghost under the similitude of fire1 that is1 that dross and tin and reprobate silver1 or1 in a word1 all inbred sin may be consumed4 ,nor is it correct to say that there are many baptisms of the ,spirit4 ,the ,holy ,ghost baptism is received by the consecrated believer once for all1 and is never repeated unless by unfaithfulness or backsliding he falls from the precious grace which this baptism confers upon him1 from ,christ through the ,spirit1 and again comes in repentance and confession to do his first works1 and again to be filled with the ,spirit and cleansed from all sin4 ,and even in that case the ,holy ,ghost seldom or never repeats ,himself1 by giving the same emotional experience as at first1 but may and must be received and retained by faith1 and the amount of feeling and the kind of feeling which ,he will arouse must be left to ,himself entirely1 ,i mean to say that the experience may be lost and may be regained1 but seldom with the same phenomena of consciousness as at the first4 ,do not speak1 then1 of having had many baptisms of the ,spirit1 but seek and find the one baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and fire4 ,do not say that you are desiring or that you have had a fresh baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 but let your thoughts and prayers be directed to the one baptism which cleanseth and endueth and anointeth4 ,but ,i would not be misunderstood on this point4 ,the ,psalmist says1 ,i shall be anointed with fresh oil1 and to every sanctified child of ,god1 there may and do come seasons of refreshing1 also of girding and filling1 and fresh anointing for particular services1 which are sometimes called fresh baptisms1 but which are not to be confounded with the one true abiding ,pentecostal experience4 ,these blessings are not to be undervalued or lightly esteemed1 but they come because we already have the ,blesser ,himself as a personal indwelling ,presence and ,power4 ,many teachers of holiness inculcate the doctrine that we are first sanctified by the blood of ,jesus1 and afterwards filled or baptized with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,this opinion would necessitate three separate experiences1 where1 ,i think1 the ,scripture only speaks of two4 ,we should have 7#a7 pardon1 7#b7 entire sanctification by the blood1 and 7#c7 the filling of the ,spirit4 ,there would thus be a separation between the removing of inbred sin from the heart1 and the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,this baptism would1 then1 be only a qualification for service4 ,it is regarded by these teachers1 as only given for an enduement of power1 to do the work to which we are called4 ,and the practical result of this error1 for such with due deference ,i must regard it1 is that some will be very anxious to obtain the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost to make them strong or powerful in their work1 but will ignore1 or even deny1 the doctrine of entire sanctification4 ,dr4 ,s4 ,a4 ,keen tells us of a minister who wrote to him that he did not take much stock in sanctification1 but that he was very desirous of the ,holy ,ghost baptism1 in order that he might have increased power in the ministry of the word4 ,and1 indeed1 this seems to be a very prevalent idea1 that we are to be baptized for service1 but not for cleansing4 ,i trust that no reader who has followed me through the different chapters of this book will imagine1 for a moment1 that ,i under-value1 in the slightest degree1 the precious blood of ,christ1 nor do ,i forget that it is that blood which1 as we walk in the light1 cleanseth us from all sin4 ,i think ,i have sufficiently stated elsewhere that the blood of ,jesus is the procuring cause of our sanctification1 as well as of our justification1 and that we are forever dependent upon the atonement for the one blessing as well as the other4 ,the blood of the ,son of ,god is the ground of our sanctification1 but it is the ,holy ,spirit who is the effective agent in destroying the depravity of our hearts4 ,it is true that our ,saviour received the ,holy ,ghost1 and that ,god anointed ,him for the great work of redemption4 ,and in ,his case1 the word used is anointed or descended1 and not in any place baptized4 ,he needed not the work of entire sanctification1 and1 therefore1 ,he is not said to have been baptized with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,as a man1 ,he did need the energizing for ,his work1 and1 therefore1 ,he is said to have been anointed4 ,beloved1 let us not separate what ,god has joined together4 ,the entire sanctification of the heart and the ,holy ,ghost baptism are coetaneous experiences1 and must not be divorced4 ,and now1 beloved reader1 ,i have accomplished my task4 ,i have shown that like a golden thread the doctrine of entire sanctification runs through the ,bible1 from ,genesis to ,revelation4 ,it is found in patriarchal times1 it is in the law and the prophets1 the types and the ceremonies1 the gospels and epistles1 everywhere showing us that we have to do with a ,holy ,god1 and that we as ,his children are required to be holy men and women4 ,to all who shall read this book1 ,i testify that by the grace of ,god1 and the blood of ,christ1 and the sin-consuming baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 this poor man1 the chief of sinners1 is saved to the uttermost4 ,glory to ,his name4 ,and to you1 my readers1 ,i bid farewell1 and say1 ,may ,he make you perfect1 stablish1 strengthen1 settle you4 ,amen4